But Nobody Came
by stichisich
Summary: Chara's village fears Mt. Ebott. They were raised on stories of the monsters lurking beneath, savage beasts with an insatiable desire for human flesh. One night, Chara finds themself scared, alone, and on the run. They flee to Mt. Ebott, fearing their own people more than the legends. The cave was dark and the root beneath their feet unseen...
1. Chapter 1

Chara ran through the forest, the trail beneath their feet a blur of tears. Their foot connected with a tree root, causing them to stumble. They threw out their hands to try to regain their balance. Pain shot up their ankle. Chara desperately wondered how much farther they had to run before they were safe.

How much farther _could_ they run?

Running was dangerous at night. What were shiny rocks and colorful leaves in the day time became dangerous obstacles at night. Plus, they were starting to tire. It had been twilight when they'd fled their village, and as they'd ran the shadows had grown longer and deeper until the whole forest was bathed in darkness. Now it was night.

Chara knew that they should keep running. People were out here, searching for them.

 _No,_ Chara shook their head, _hunting_ for them.

They paused to rub their eyes. Fresh tears replaced the ones they wiped away. Their breath came in shallow gasps, a mixture of exhaustion and crying. They considered stopping for a few minutes to catch their breath. Just as the thought dared to cross their mind, they heard a rustle in the brush behind them and the sound of a stick snapping. Chara let out a scared squeak and ran away, faster than they had been going before.

The logical side of their brain argued that the noise could had been anything. It could have been a rabbit hopping in the undergrowth for all they knew! Chara ran for another minute and, hearing nothing else out of the ordinary, collapsed against a tree.

Shaking from exhaustion, Chara dug their hands into the rough bark, fighting to get their breathing under control. The shock and rush of adrenaline was starting to fade. They clutched the bark harder, distracting themselves from dangerous thoughts.

 _I let her down. It's all my fault._

 _She's dead._

Chara let out a cry and covered their mouth. The sound reverberated in the otherwise quiet forest. _If someone heard that…_ Chara's shoulders shook. They could imagine people tracking the noise right back to them. Both mentally and physically exhausted, they tensed, waiting for hands to appear out of the darkness and seize them. Chara listened, but the forest remained quiet, the echos of their cry fading. Finally, after a good minute of silence, they sank to the ground, keeping their trembling hands firmly planted over their mouth to prevent another outburst. A minute passed, then two. Chara trepidatiously stood, listening. From somewhere in the distant wood, Chara could hear someone stomping through undergrowth and dense trees.

Chara flinched. They looked toward where the noise was coming from, but saw nothing. The sound kept coming, closer and closer. Chara's knees shook as they lowered themself to a crouch. They bit their hand to keep their teeth from chattering. They knew that they couldn't go on much longer. The noises grew louder. Over the crunch of leaves and twigs, Chara heard someone swear under their breath. Chara didn't move a muscle, fighting their growing terror as the silhouette drew closer. It's shadow fell on dying grass in front of Chara. Chara held their breath. After a pause, the shadow turned and faded away. _  
_  
Chara released a shaky breath. They stood, eyes trained on the patch of dark where someone had been, mere seconds ago. Their mind raced. Where to go now? They had no plan, no ideas, nothing. Where could they go now? Where could something being hunted like prey escape to?

They whirled their head around as a crash echoed through the trees in the clearing below them. Chara saw birds burst out of the branches, spinning towards the sky. Flying somewhere they knew no one would follow. Chara tilted their head to follow the bird's path, staring up at the creature that loomed above them. Mt. Ebott.

Once on the mountain path, Chara began to relax. They let their pace slow to a walk. Chara gasped as they lost their footing on a rock. They fell, crying out as their hands met the ground with a sharp pain. They rose to their feet, wiping blood off their knees with bloodier palms. Chara winced as they took their first step forward, ankle screaming in protest. They briefly considered stopping, then shook the thought from their head. They needed to keep going. They couldn't just stay on a mountain indefinitely.

 _What do I do after that?_

Their fast stride slowed into a staggering limp. Dazed and in pain, Chara could only muster the strength to keep moving forward.

A sound like a gunshot broke their trance. Chara jumped backwards, catching themself before nearly tumbling off the mountain path. A light rain started to fall, the drops keeping pace with Chara's racing heart. They knew they couldn't keep walking. The ground was growing muddy, clinging to Chara's sneakers. Between their ankle, their exhaustion, and the slippery path, it was testing fate to keep walking. They needed to find shelter.

They paused for a moment to look around. The trees around them were too thin to keep them dry. They kept going, planning to cut back down the mountain to thicker cover when they had put enough distance between them and their town.

 _A town full of people who could care less about me._

They pushed the thought aside, forcing themself to focus on their movement. Step… Step… One foot after another. They kept their gaze trained on their feet, watching the fabric of their worn shoes crease and tighten with each step. They were so preoccupied with this that they passed something. It took Chara a few steps before they registered that there was indeed something there. They turned back to get a better look. It was a cave. Chara stood at the entrance, peering in. They could only see a few meters of shadowy gray rock inside the cave before darkness consumed any visible light. There was a moment of indecision.

 _Mt. Ebott. The mountain of monsters._

It was a cursed place. Should they really be here? They suddenly felt cold. They wondered how much of the folklore was real. Since the time they were old enough to walk they had heard stories about the monsters that roamed beneath the mountain. After a long and bloody war, the humans were left victorious and locked the monsters under their feet. Enraged, the monsters cursed the mountain. They promised death and suffering on anyone foolish enough to climb it.

They thought back to years ago, the first time they'd made this journey. Everything had seemed so simple then. They closed their eyes, taking in a deep breath. _Then, I guess the legends were true. Death and suffering to anyone foolish enough to climb it. So, everything that's happened, that's been my fault, hasn't it?_ Unknowingly, they had sealed their fate a long time ago.

Guilt weighing heavily on their shoulders, they entered the dark cave.

Despite everything that had happened, Chara felt oddly calm. The only thing they felt was a thick, unrelenting tiredness.

It didn't matter. Did it?

None of this did.

They spotted a rock on the side of the cave. They sat, busying themself with worrying the end of their bracelet. Chara's eyes began to droop. They needed to sleep, needed to be ready to move whenever the storm cleared up. The weather outside had taken a turn for the worse. The rain was pouring buckets. Lightning lit up the sky at random intervals. They scooted deeper into the cave to stay dry from the puddles collecting around their feet. Leaning against the cave wall, they shut their eyes, surrendering to sleep.

At some point, Chara drifted off. When they stirred again, the world was quiet. The rain had stopped, leaving only the faint sound of water dripping from the end of a stalactite. They stretched, attempting to rid their neck of it's stiffness. Looking deeper into the cave, something caught Chara's eye.

The cave expanded forward for a few yards before it slowly curved. Where the path disappeared behind a cave wall, Chara saw the weak glow of moonlight.

Chara stood, puzzled. They peered further into the cave, focusing on the patch of light. Chara let their mind drift back to the legends surrounding this place. Who knew what could be hiding in the darkness.

As Chara walked, the cave began to widen. They turned the corner to find themself in a small cavern where, at some point time, the rock ceiling had collapsed, leaving a massive hole overhead and exposing the small bit of cave to the open air. The moonlight cast a dim light around the cavern, too little to see much of anything but faint outlines and shapes. They turned their head up to admire the stars and the enormity of the night sky.

Tears welled up in Chara's eyes. They searched the sky for a shooting star.

 _Please,_ Chara wished. _I just want to be able to redo this. Redo anything._ Chara felt a tear roll down their face. _I've made so many mistakes._

Chara stepped back, trying to catch a glimpse of the milky way. The stone underneath them had been relatively flat thus far, so the last thing Chara was expecting was for their foot to hit a tree root in the ground. Had they been paying attention, they may have been able to catch themself. But, with Chara's eyes fixed overhead, they waited too long to catch their balance.

Chara swung their arms out, further twisting their ankle. They fell backwards, nothing close enough to grab onto. Chara opened up their mouth in a silent scream.

Looking up, they saw a star shoot across the sky. Chara squeezed their eyes shut and braced themself for impact.

 _I just want to be able to redo this..._

 _...Redo anything._

* * *

New updates every week.


	2. Chapter 2

Pain. It was the only thing that they could feel. The slow rise and fall of their chest sent agonizing shudders through their body. On reflex, they shifted onto their side. Pain shot up their chest. Bad idea.

They gritted their teeth against the next wave of pain. _Why? Where?_ Their eyes fluttered open. They saw a blur of green and brown. Grass. Dirt. They were lying on grass. Blinking hard, their vision cleared enough to take in their surroundings. Their eyes focused on grass stretching up against a solid cave wall.

 _I fell,_ they recalled. They lifted their head and looked up. Only a tiny patch of sky could be seen, far above them. Their heart raced. What would happen if no one found them? They tried to find their voice.

"Ugh," they groaned and coughed. The pain was instant, casting black spots across their vision. They started to panic. No one was around. They were lost. They were hurt. They couldn't move. They couldn't-

"Help!" they croaked. Only a stiff silence returned their call. Nobody could hear them, and their chest hurt too badly to cry much louder.

Chara took another painfully shallow breath. They tried one last time. "Help me!" They coughed. Their chest felt like it was caving in. They needed help.

But they were on Mt. Ebott. Nobody would come. They thought of the monsters. Were they real? Were they going to come and get them? Chara could imagine the monsters, pinpointing where they were and already on their way. All big pointed teeth and sharp claws.

They had a sudden thought. They could barely move, let alone run. They were too hurt to put up much of a fight. What if they weren't found? Or what if, worse than that, they were? They might be found by someone who wanted to hurt them. They would be completely defenseless. Chara felt their heart pound faster. Which would be worse?

Suddenly they heard something behind them. Faint footsteps.

"It sounds like it came from over here…"

The boy's voice was quiet, almost drowned out by the sound of his own footsteps. Somebody was coming. Somebody had actually heard them. Chara was confused. It wasn't anyone they knew. That meant that it probably wasn't someone from their village. They were glad of that. But what would anyone in their right mind be doing in the mountain?

Chara turned their head towards the sound. They saw an archway, leading into darkness. The footsteps got louder. From behind a pillar, a head poked out.

Chara let out a gasp, feeling pure horror wash over them. _A monster._ In the longest second of their life, the monster's gaze met theirs. They lay motionless, hardly daring to breath.

The monster turned his focus to the ceiling. "You've fallen down, haven't you?" He stepped towards Chara.

With energy that they didn't know they had, they sat up and scooted away from him. Their body screamed in outrage from the movement. They wrapped their arms around their stomach where it hurt the most. As if that would help. A few feet away, they felt the wall behind them, cold and solid. They were trapped.

The monster gasped. "Are you okay?" he squeaked. He didn't look very intimidating. He didn't even sound like a adult. Maybe not even as old as they were. He moved closer, holding out a clawed hand.

 _So my village was right. Everything was my fault and now I guess it's my turn to suffer._

Chara flinched away. The monster pushed his outstretched hand closer to Chara "Here, I'll help you up."

They were already hurt. As painful as standing seemed, Chara was in no condition to argue with a monster. Ignoring the pain, they grabbed his arm. "Ow." They were pulled to their feet.

Immediately, they fell back over, stopped only by the small hands that wrapped around them.

"You're hurt." He sounded almost worried. The monster shifted their arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry, mom can help. Let's go this way." It pointed to the path it had come down. They took a few small steps. "Say, what's your name?"

It took a few seconds for their head to register that a question had been asked. Another few to realized that the monster probably wanted an answer. "Chara," they said at last.

The monster grinned, showing white pointy teeth. "Chara, huh. That's a nice name." The room became blurry. Chara closed their eyes. When the monster spoke again, it sounded far away. They found themself slipping. "My name is…"

* * *

They woke up with an intense pounding in their skull. They groaned and shifted, attempting to get more comfortable beneath the covers.

 _Covers?_ They forced open up their eyes. They were tucked into a bed in a small room. They could see a dresser and a bookcase against the opposite wall. To their side was a nightstand, supporting a lamp and a cup of water. They tentatively picked it up and took a sip. Then another. They were a lot thirstier than they had thought they were; they ended up downing it all in a few gulps. The water helped their head feel a little less clouded. A question slowly pushed through the remaining fog.

 _Where am I?_ Answering the question was harder. Thinking made their head spin. They closed their eyes.

When they woke up again, their headache had largely subsided. They found it a lot easier to stay awake. Chara was able to take in the room. It's walls were a light, cheery blue with mostly wooden furniture. They tried to figure out what was going on. Where were they? Chara found their mind drifting back to last night.

Last night? The night before that? Just how long had they been sleeping? Chara rubbed their fingers against their forehead to soothe the ache. Did the time really matter? Somehow, they had been found and were being taken care of. They remembered something. The monster. They had seen one, didn't they? Chara shook their head. They had been hurt. It must have been a dream.

Satisfied with this answer, they lay back onto their pillow. They closed their eyes. Halfway asleep, they rolled onto their side in an attempt to get comfortable.

They groaned as the pain struck them. Their chest burned. They let out a cough, low and scratchy. They were still coughing, trying to get their breathing under control when the door swung open.

"Are you okay?"

Chara let out another cough. They looked up. There was a monster in the doorway, watching them. Chara's eyes widened. A real live monster, with big sharp claws and fangs peeking out from his mouth. Their hand curled into a nervous fist around the covers.

He stepped towards them. "Oh, you just had something in your throat?"

They gave a whimper of fear, looking around for something, anything that could help them. They spotted the empty cup. They tried to grab it from where they were now, but it slipped out of their grasp and clattered to the floor.

"Did you want some more water?" He looked down at them, cocking his head. He reached out.

Chara bunched their shoulders up, shying away from him.

He picked up the cup. "Are you-," he trailed off. "Are you scared of me?" He sounded surprised. Chara lowered their gaze. There was silence for a few seconds. "I-I didn't mean to scare you." The monster sniffled. "I'm sorry." He picked up the cup, wiping his eye. "Here, I'll get you more water."

Chara watched him as he turned away and rounded the corner. They were confused, trying to piece together the stories they've heard about monsters and figure out what was going on. They tried to recall one that went anything like this. One where the monsters didn't kill you. Where they took you back and healed you. All they could remember was one story where monsters carried off people to their lairs to eat them later. Their heart sunk.

The monsters were just trying to get their trust. Then they would be killed and eaten. Chara bit their lip. No, that would be too merciful. The monsters would first torture them, letting them die slowly and painfully. Why else would they have bothered to heal them beforehand? Chara was starting to wish that it had been the fall that killed them.

"Here. I got some more water for you." The monster entered the room slowly, giving Chara the impression that he was trying not to scare them this time. "Here ya go!" He held it out to Chara, easily within reach.

Chara didn't grab it. They stared at their fingers, attempting to get the dirt out from under their fingernails.

After a few seconds, the monster placed it on the nightstand. "I'll just put it here then. For you to have later." He seemed to notice that being this close made them uneasy because he stepped back a pace, giving them space. "My name's Asriel, remember me?"

Chara shook their head slightly, so little a motion they weren't sure it was noticed.

Apparently it was. "Oh. I was the one who found you yesterday after you fell down." Asriel's ears drooped. He spoke slowly. "Don't you remember that at all?"

Chara shook their head, though they could vaguely remember it.

"My mom helped fix you up," Asriel said. "Then we brought you here to our house to rest so you can get better."

 _I'm in a monster's lair then?_ Admittedly, this house didn't look what Chara thought a monster's lair would look like. It looked almost like a normal room. Well, other than the its occupant.

They looked up at him, noticing more and more how similar he looked to another sort of animal. "Are you a goat? They blurted out, narrowing their eyes.

Asriel giggled. "You're silly. I'm a monster."

Afraid that they might've offended him, Chara studied their blanket. It was a cheerful sky blue. Someone had even taken the time to embroider it's sides with pictures of little smiling monsters. Chara traced a deformed deer-like creature with their pointer finger.

"So, anyway, Asriel said. "I came in to see how you were doing."

Chara shrugged, keeping their gaze on the blanket.

"Anything hurt?"

Bad pain in their chest, their throat, their head, and a general soreness all over. They started to trace a carrot monster on the blanket.

They swallowed some spit, their parched throat reminding them how thirsty they were. They tried to sit up so that they could drink their water."Ow," they gasped and flopped back onto the bed. "My chest hurts."

Asriel pulled out a small notebook from his pocket. He flipped open the notebook and dug into his pockets and pulled out a broken crayon stub. Asriel stuck his tongue out in concentration as he began to write. "Chest. Hurts. Bad. Got it." He put the notebook away. "Okay, I'll tell my mom and she can use her healing magic to help you feel better.

"Wait, magic?" Chara asked.

"Yeah," Asriel said. "I could get her right now, if you-"

"No." Chara shook their head.

"Oh. Okay, Chara." He paused, scratching the back of his neck. "Maybe I should go and let you get some sleep or something?"

Chara's eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know my name?"

"You told me that was your name. When I met you," Asriel said. He frowned. "Wait, that _is_ your name, right?"

Chara coughed, "Yeah." They drank some water to help clear their throat. _Funny how he actually seemed to care about getting my name right._ Or maybe that was part of the act. To act nice and concerned so that they'd begin to trust them. They eyed him warily.

They devised a plan. They had to find out where they where so they could escape. But that wouldn't work if he would just lie about everything. So first, they needed to come up with some questions. To see if they could trust him to tell the truth.

"So," Chara said. "You live on Mt. Ebott?"

Asriel looked down at them. "Well, I'm not sure that I would call in living _on_ Mt. Ebott." A smile played his lips. "More like _in_ Mt. Ebott."

Chara paused. They tried to think of something smart to say. Something that would help them to figure out what was going on. It didn't work so they just went with,"So you guys live underground then?"

"Yep," Asriel said, "In Home."

Chara furrowed their eyebrows.

"That's our town." Asriel facepalmed. "Dad's really bad at names."

A whole town of monster? Chara could see their chances of getting out plummet even more. It was unlikely enough that they could evade even one monster as they were right now. Now they had to worry about not one or two, but a lot of monsters. They had thought monsters were solitary creatures.

They came up with an idea. Maybe he was lying. Or trying to scare them. Chara thought back to yesterday's events. They had told Asriel that they didn't remember their fall at all. If he told a fib, they would know. Chara looked down at the blanket. "So," they tried to sound nonchalant. "What happened?"

"What do you mean? When I found you?" Asriel guessed.

Chara nodded.

"Well, I was just running down the halls of Home. A bunch of monsters and I were playing hide and seek. I thought that if I got to the end of Home, maybe no one would would bother going all the way there and I would win." He stepped closer.

"So I was there, waiting for someone to come when I hear this really big thud sound." He slammed his foot onto the ground, causing Chara to flinch. "Oh, sorry. It was like that but _way_ louder. So I was just standing there really confused like, 'what the heck was that!' Then I heard someone calling for help so I ran over."

His eyes were wide and excited, and his voice had taken on a dramatic tone. It was clear that he liked to tell stories. "And then I found you, but you didn't look very good. You fell asleep so I ran all the way back and got mom and dad."

Asriel paused. "You hungry, Chara? Mom said that she was going to make us a big breakfast when you woke up." His ears perked up. "Then we can eat here in your room and then we can play some games and hang out and talk and-"

They heard a chuckle from the doorway. "No, Chara will not be going to get breakfast with you, Asriel."

Chara looked up. _Another monster!_ They took in a gasp of breath. This one towered over Asriel. They tensed.

Asriel seemed to notice this. "It's okay, Chara," Asriel said. "That's my mom. You don't have to be scared of her. Mom's really super nice. She helped you yesterday when you fell."

She knelt down by the bed, "You do not need to be scared, child. My name is Toriel."

"Why can't I eat breakfast with Chara?" Asriel jutted out his bottom lip.

Toriel shook her head. "I doubt that they are feeling up to it right now." She turned her attention to Chara. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, wait." Asriel dug through his pockets. "I took notes." Asriel fished the crumpled up notebook out of his pocket, which he showed to his mom. "See? Earlier this morning Chara said that they were sore everywhere and-" he paused flipped the page, "that their chest hurt really bad. I was a detective today!" Asriel said proudly.

"Well done, Asriel." Toriel patted his shoulder. "You have just made my job a whole lot easier."

"Yeah." Asriel beamed, pumping his fist into the air.

"I will be using some healing magic to make you feel better," Toriel said. "Asriel, could you please leave us for a few minutes while I heal Chara?"

Chara panicked. "Why-"

"But _mom_." Asriel's smile faltered.

Toriel shook her head, unrelentingly. "Asriel, healing magic is very advanced and requires a lot of concentration."

"Okay," Asriel grumbled and turned around.

 _Nope, nope. I don't want to be let alone with the big monster._ As little as they could say that they trusted Asriel, it was more than they trusted Toriel. _He's just a kid,_ they thought. _Kids are nicer than grown ups._ They grabbed onto his sweater, flinching as he wheeled back around, surprised. When he tried to take a step away, Chara pulled him back.

"Mom, I'm stuck," Asriel giggled.

"Um," Chara dropped their hand back onto the bed. "Can you stay?" they pleaded. Asriel looked at his mom with the most pathetic expression imaginable.

Toriel hesitated for a few seconds before she sighed. "Okay, Asriel. As long as you are not disruptive you can stay."

"Yay!" Asriel exclaimed then looked at his mom. "Um, I mean..." he gave Chara a thumbs up and sat down, off to the side.

Toriel looked to Asriel to make sure that he had settled down before she started to talk. "So, Chara," she said. "Do you have any questions or are you ready to begin?"

 _Begin? Begin what exactly?_ Chara fidgeted nervously. "What are you doing?"

Toriel smiled, "I will be drawing your soul out to have a checkup." Chara looked at her, confused. Toriel clarified. "I am simply going to be checking your health. Then, if need be, I can use my magic to heal you,"

"Um," Chara's heart pounded wildly against their chest. They started to mentally list the number of ways this could go wrong. "Will it hurt?"

"Of course not, my child." Toriel shook her head. "Are you able to sit up?"

Chara lowered their eyes, "It hurts."

"Hm," Toriel raised her hand over Chara's chest. The hand glowed in the dim room. Chara tensed, but instead of a burning pain, the fur of the hand felt only comfortably warm as it touched Chara's sweater. Just as Chara was starting to relax, Toriel drew her hand back. "How does it feel now?"

Chara slowly tried to sit up, expecting sharp pain. They were surprised when all they could feel in terms of hurt was a dull ache in their chest and their back. They blinked, impressed. "Wow."

Asriel propped a few pillows behind their back, "You okay?"

"I already feel a lot better," Chara said.

"That's good." Asriel said.

"Chara, would you like some tea or perhaps a cup of milk?"

"Tea?" Chara mumbled, not used to this much attention.

"Asgore, could you make some tea for Chara?" Toriel directed towards the door. Nothing happened.

Asriel giggled, "I'll go ask dad." He was gone for only a few seconds. "Dad! Mom wants some tea!" They could hear him loud and clear from down the hall. Asriel ran back into the room. "Okay, I asked him."

"Thank you, Asriel," Toriel said and then directed her gaze to Chara. "Are you ready, child?"

Chara swallowed. They nodded.

Toriel flicked her wrist. The whole room lit up with a reddish hue. Both Chara and Asriel gasped as a red heart appeared, hovering over Chara's chest. Their soul shone brightly and pulsed with a steady beat.

"Wow. It's pretty," Asriel said, his gaze fixed on the heart. "It looks different than a monster soul, though."

"Monster have souls?" Chara asked.

"Yep," Asriel said. "But human hearts are upside down," he noted. "And _our_ souls aren't so colorful."

"Eighteen," Toriel waved the heart away. "That is good."

Chara slowly put a hand up to their chest. "Eighteen?" they repeated.

"It's your HP," Asriel said. "Because you're still getting better. If you were at full health, your HP would be at…" He looked at his mom.

"Twenty."

"Twenty," Asriel finished.

"Oh," Chara said, not really understanding. Heavy footsteps entered the room. Chara looked up. A taller monster was standing in the doorway, horns curling out from his head. He stooped to walk through the door. His horns grazed the door frame. He looked at Chara, smiling warmly. Chara hugged their arms around their chest.

"Don't worry, that's my dad." Asriel said.

"Chara," Toriel said. "This is my husband, Asgore."

"Did someone ask for some tea?" Asgore was carrying a steaming cup. He set it down on the nightstand. Chara's stomach rumbled again, reminding them that they hadn't had much to eat in the past day. They reached for the tea.

Asriel squinted at Chara. "You were scared of me. You were scared of _mom_ , but you're perfectly okay with dad?"

 _I'm not sure if I'd say perfectly okay._ In truth, they were terrified. Chara shrugged, looking down at their tea. Chara brought it to their mouth and took an experimental sip. It was bland, but warm. It helped soothe their throat. Chara started into the bright yellow tea, avoiding Asgore's eyes.

Asgore seemed to sense that he was making them uneasy. "I will be reading in the living room if you need me." He excused himself from the room. Toriel followed.

Chara took another sip of the tea before setting it on the nightstand. Asriel waited next to their bed, watching them. Chara tried not to meet his eyes.

Toriel reentered the room carrying a laundry basket. "I was thinking that you may want some fresh clothes to change into." She handed Chara a pile of neatly folded laundry. "I brought over some of Asriel's clothes for you to use. I hope that is okay with you."

Chara nodded.

"Those on the top are your pajamas. On the bottom I have given you a couple of shirts and pants for you to try," Toriel said, "I can always get you some more if it doesn't fit right."

"Uh," Chara held the clothes stiffly. "I don't know if I need all of that," Chara reached out to hand the clothes back.

"We insist. Do not fret." Toriel held her hands in the air. "We have plenty for you."

"No, I mean." Chara set the stack beside them on the bed. "I don't think that I will be here long enough to need all of this."

"You will be here for a few days at least, maybe more," Toriel said. "Until you get better. Asriel, come with me to let them rest."

"Okay, mom." Asriel said and stepped out of the room. "Night, Chara."

Toriel began to shut the door.

"Wait!" Chara said. The door stopped. Slowly the crack of light grew wider. Toriel stood in the doorway.

"Yes, small one?"

"What-" Chara wrung the sheets in their hands. "What are you going to do with me?" Their voice was barely a whisper. Tears were prickling at their eyes. Chara looked down at the sheets. _Why now?_ Chara cursed. They had held it together for almost a day now. _Why cry now?_

Chara brushed the wetness out of their eyes but new tears rushed to the surface. They were scare, tired, hurt, alone, and grieving. Chara almost laughed. They were grieving a death, and they were grieving that another death that didn't occur. Grieving the fact that they were still alive. The laugh pushed out of their throat. It sounded like a sob.

Movement at the side of the bed startled Chara. Toriel had moved closer to them without Chara noticing.

"That depends," Toriel said. "What do you want us to do with you?"

Chara was shaking. "Please," they croaked. "Please let me go." All of a sudden Chara didn't want to die after all. Or at least they wanted it to be on their own terms. Not at the hands of monsters. "I promise I won't cause any problems. I'll leave. Just please, let me go."

Chara flinched as Toriel brushed their bangs out of their eyes. She looked at Chara's tearstained face. "Why, child," she said. "You're not a prisoner here. You can leave." Chara met her eyes with trepidation. They searched for deception, some hint of cruelty, but only found honest sympathy. Chara looked away.

"I will not pretend that I understand your pain," Toriel said. "You must miss your family so much. All of your friends. I cannot understand, but I can try. Centuries ago," Toriel said wistfully. "I was there. I still remember how sweet the air smelled, how clear the sky looked. And the flowers. The flowers were so beautiful."

Tears squeezed out of Chara's eyes. They felt pressure on their back.

"Oh, child." Toriel rubbed their back. "I did not mean to make you cry. I know that this must be startling for you."

Chara bit their hand to keep from sobbing.

"Sh, there there. You are all right now. Do not worry. My husband and I will do everything in our power to get you back to the surface, even if we cannot follow you. You will see the sky again someday, I promise." She put her finger under Chara's chin. Chara raised their head. "But until then," Toriel said sternly. "You are not a prisoner here. I do not know what you have heard or what you believe, but you are not a prisoner. Human or not, you are a child. You are safe here."

Chara wiped their nose with their sleeve. "How can I believe you?"

Toriel smiled sadly. "You do not have to. It will not change anything." She stood up. "Just rest, small one. We will talk more in the morning. For now, rest. Goodnight."

They sat still on the bed until the door creaked shut. How would they get out of this? And, if they did, where would they go? How about as far from their village as possible? They knew that they couldn't go back. Not now. Not ever.

They had to leave. They were tempting fate every second they stayed with the monsters. They should've left as soon as they had woken, though in hindsight they wouldn't have gotten far.

Chara swung their legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the dull flash of pain that went up their back. They let their feet touch the floor. They stood for a few seconds, wobbling, every muscle in their leg screaming at them to stop, before slipping back into the bed.

They made up their mind. They had to wait another day or two until they could walk again. Then they would leave. Chara curled their hand into a fist. They tipped the pile of laundry off the bed, watching the stack fall over onto its side as it hit the floor. Like they'd change into monster garb. With that out of the way, Chara collapsed back onto their bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Thank you so much for stopping by again this week and continuing to read. I hope that you enjoyed it. In case you are wondering, I posted my story here and on Ao3. The next update will be out next Friday at the same time. Feel free to point out plot holes and grammar mistakes. I'm always a fan of constructive criticism.

By the way, Nemo says hi :3


	3. Chapter 3

They woke up the next morning without the intense burning in their muscles. They took a deep breath and released it slowly. Where yesterday there had been a sharp pain in their chest, now they felt only a small pinch.

A buttery smell snaked under the door. Food. Someone was cooking. They could hear sizzling, as well as an excited, high pitched voice. The muffled background noise lulled them back to sleep. They closed their eyes.

Chara subconsciously heard the voice on the other side of the door grow closer. The door creaked open. Chara blinked, looking up to see Asriel poke his head in and flash them a smile. "Howdy, Chara." He turned back down the hall. "Mom, they're awake. Can I bring the food in?"

Toriel appeared in the doorway. "Of course, my child. Just try to keep the volume down a bit." She handed Asriel a plate.

"Sorry, mom."

 _The food's probably rotten. Or poisoned. Or really gross._ They waited to see what kind of terrible food they would be served. _What do monsters eat when they are not dining on humans?_

Asriel walked into the room and placed the plate onto the nightstand. Someone had baked pancakes. They were almost as large as the plate and stacked three high. The pancakes smelled slightly burnt, but it was food. Their stomach grumbled, reminding them of how hungry they were.

"We made chocolate chip pancakes for you. I helped," Asriel said proudly, placing a butter knife and fork next to the plate. "Usually mom only makes pancakes for breakfast, but she said that this was a special case."

Chara rubbed the sleep from their eyes. "This _isn't_ breakfast? What time is it?"

"Noon," he said. "You slept through breakfast, so we're having pancakes for lunch instead. You were really tired."

Chara hadn't realized that they'd slept that long. They looked at the pancakes. The top of the stack was covered with chocolate chips that had melted together to form a sloppy smiley face. A line of chocolate cascaded down the stack of pancakes, forming a pool of molten chocolate on the edge of the plate.

 _That was really nice of them._

"Oh, um-" Their voice caught and they coughed to clear it. "Thanks."

Toriel gave them a concerned look. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"No. It's just-"

 _No one ever seems to care._

"Never mind." Chara put what they hoped was a cheerful smile on their face.

 _Why would you be any different?_

"Well..." Chara could see Toriel hesitate. "Okay. If you need anything, call out and I will come and help you. Once you are done eating, you can put your plate on the nightstand. I will get it later when I come back to heal you again."

"Okay." Chara stared at the blankets.

"Now," she turned to Asriel. "Do you want to eat with Chara to keep them company?"

"Yeah." Asriel skipped out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a heaping plate of pancakes.

Toriel turned to Chara. "Remember, if you need anything, send Asriel." She chuckled. "I have a feeling he will be hanging out around here for the majority of the day. But, if you want some rest or alone time, do not be afraid to ask him to leave. Okay?"

Chara nodded, running their fingers through the tangles in their hair. They let out a quiet mumble. "Thanks."

"Of course, dear." Toriel left the room.

Chara looked over to the plate sitting on the nightstand. They grabbed it and cut a piece of pancake, eyeing it warily. It _looked_ normal. They brought their fork up to their nose. It smelled normal. They bit off a corner. It was warm and sweet. They shot Asriel a hint of a smile.

"Wait," Asriel said. "I forgot something." He ran out of the room, returning with syrup in one hand and a small bag in the other.

"Here's some syrup and chocolate chips. In case we run out," he said. He set the syrup and the chocolate on the nightstand. "So, do you like the pancakes?" He sat on the floor, looking at them for an answer. His eyes were large and pleading.

"They're good," Chara said and took another bite. "I've never had chocolate on pancakes before." They neglected to add that they hadn't eaten pancakes at all for what felt like a lifetime.

"What?" He opened his mouth, shocked. "Never?"

Chara stiffened, hoping that they hadn't done anything wrong. They continued chewing in silence. Asriel shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

"My mom is the best cook ever. She can make anything."

 _Anything_? Chara's stomach lurched. _Are humans on the menu by any chance?_ They retched and set their plate on the nightstand. They had only taken a few bites, but they didn't feel hungry anymore.

"Oh, are you done?" Asriel looked at Chara. "I'll take your dishes to the kitchen. I'm almost done too." Asriel shoved a load of pancakes into his mouth. "Imma go put these away." He grabbed their dishes and ran out of the room, nearly knocking the forks onto the ground in his haste.

Chara settled back in bed, already feeling the urge to fall back asleep. They yawned and rubbed their eyes to keep themself awake. It didn't help. Their eyelids grew heavy.

"Hey, guess what!" Asriel bounced back into the room, grinning.

Chara flinched. "What?"

"You can get out of bed today." Asriel's smile widened. "I can show you around the house. Here." He held out his hand.

Chara had wondered what the rest of the house looked like. They were curious. Besides, then they'd know how to leave. Chara ignored his outstretched hand. They set their feet down gingerly, remembering the other day when they tried to stand. The tiny bit of weight didn't hurt. They put more weight on their feet. They could feel the pressure build in their knees. Their legs felt shaky, but they could stand.

They took a baby step, hand firmly planted on the side of the bed for support. Their legs didn't give out. They tried another, more normal step. Good.

"Need any help?" Asriel cocked his head. "You look a bit shaky."

"No." They were determined to do this all by themself. They took another step forward, slow but steady. They made their way over to the door.

"Okay, Chara." He held the door open for them.

They squinted at the sudden change of lighting, their eyes slowly adjusting to the warm buttery light of the hallway. They were in a long hallway that opened up to a snug living room. Contrary to the disrepair Chara had thought monster lairs would be in, everything was tidy and dusted. The wall of the hallway was decorated with bright, colorful crayon drawings. There was a small end table against the wall, its surface covered with little knickknacks and photo frames. Next to the table was a vase of flowers.

Asriel pointed down the hall. "Over there is the living room and the kitchen." He started down the hall, pointing to the next door that they passed. "That's mom's and dad's room." They passed another door. "And that's mine!"

The hallway led into a larger room. Chara saw a staircase. "What's down there?" They pointed. They walked to the edge of the staircase, feeling too unsteady to walk down. The stairs descended into a dimly lit hallway, plunging straight into darkness. A chill ran down Chara's spine.

Goosebumps prickled their arms. It was as if the basement radiated a cold eeriness. They took a step back.

"That's our basement. There isn't much down there." Asriel hurried over to the opposite side of the room and pointed to the door. "That's the door that leads outside to the town." Asriel ran past again, stopping by a fireplace. "Here's the living room." He gestured at them to follow. Chara could see Asgore reading in the big chair, humming to himself. They entered with hesitation, their eyes fixed on the monster.

"Oh. Hello, Chara." Asgore looked up from his book. "I am glad to see you up and about. How are you doing?"

Chara looked down, tapping the wood floor with their foot. "Good."

"Good." Asgore resumed reading.

Asriel pointed around the corner. "And there's the kitchen," he said. Chara turned to where he was pointing. Past the fireplace they could see countertops and an oven.

"Dad, where's mom?"

"Hm?" Asgore lifted his head. "Mom is in town."

"Oh." Asriel looked over at Chara. "What do you wanna do now?" He tilted his head.

Chara shrugged.

"Oh," he said. "You haven't seen _my_ room yet. I can give you a tour."

Chara was already starting to feel tired, but Asriel looked excited. They sighed. "Okay." Asriel led them down the hall and threw open the door.

Chara wasn't sure what they were expecting a goat monster bedroom to look like, but this wasn't it. The room was messy, with clothes thrown together in a puddle, and assorted toys scattered throughout the room. The carpet beneath their feet was soft and green. The walls were green too.

"Do you like it?" Asriel asked hesitantly.

Chara looked around. They said the only thing that came to mind. "It's very..." they hesitated. "Green."

Asriel grinned, "Of course it is. Green is the best color."

Chara shook their head. Asriel had already moved on to the next section of the tour.

Asriel led them around the room, excitedly showing them all of his belongings. He opened up his closet and showed them a row of identical green and yellow striped shirts, just like the shirt he had on. There was also a reasonable amount of the shirts thrown haphazardly on the bedroom floor.

The bookcase adjacent to Asriel's closet caught Chara's eye.

They walked over to it and scanned the rows of books enviously. They hadn't gotten to read much above ground. The majority of the books on the shelf were old and worn, with yellowed pages and broken spines. Chara reached out and grabbed one at random. It was a small gray book. The cover had been torn off, but it's pages were left mostly intact.

They saw the header on the first page. 'The Stone Den.' Intrigued, they read the first line. 'In the beginning was a castle, perched high on a craggy precipice. The air around it was so cold that it seemed-'

"What's that?" Asriel appeared over their shoulder. They jumped, dropping the book. He picked it up and leafed through the pages. "I haven't read this book before." He squinted. "Too many big words and not enough pictures." He slid it back into the bookcase. Asriel picked up a bin from the top of the bookcase, full of crayons and colored pencils. "Wanna draw?"

Chara shrugged, looking back at the bookshelf. "I guess."

Asriel pushed a pile of toys and clothes off of his bed to make room to sit. He set the bin between them and tore a page from his notebook. "Here, for you." Asriel handed it to Chara.

They both sat down to draw. Chara grabbed an orange colored pencil and attempted to make a smiley face, but the pencil poked through the paper. Asriel noticed. "Here." He grabbed a large hardcover book from the bookcase and handed it to them. "Use this."

Chara couldn't think of anything to draw, so they settled for abstract lines and shapes. They kept looking across the room at Asriel, keeping an eye on the monster. Asriel didn't look up. He was drawing furiously. After the third time, Chara decided that they were safe. They scribbled aimlessly until they ran out of space on their paper.

Chara tilted their head to look at Asriel's paper. He was in the middle of drawing a little yellow flower. Asriel moved his hand to turn the paper and Chara saw a dozen more buttercups, all drawn in a line.

They cleared their throat. "Practicing drawing flowers?"

Asriel nodded, not lifting his eyes from the paper.

Chara was out of paper and didn't really want to color so they guessed that it wouldn't hurt to talk. "You like drawing other kinds of flowers?"

Asriel looked up. "Not really."

"Why?"

"I don't know how to."

"Hmm." Chara looked at their poor excuse of a drawing and decided that they wanted to do something else. "You could ask your folks if they have any books on flowers. Then you would have pictures to look at."

"Good idea." Asriel flew out of the room. "Hey, dad?" he shouted from the hallway.

Chara flinched at the sudden noise. They got to their feet and followed Asriel's voice out the door that Asriel said led outside.

They were greeted with disappointment. They had thought that they'd be outside, but they were still in a cave.

They looked up. "Wow." The cave ceiling was as high as a two story home. Even so, the cave felt small. The walls on either side of them were no farther than fifteen feet apart. Chara felt uncomfortable, like the walls were pressing in around them. They took a gulp of air. What would happen if the ceiling suddenly caved in? They looked up, wondering how far below the surface they were. How many tons of rock hung above them at every moment? Their heartbeat quickened and they considered slipping back inside.

They looked down to where Asgore and Asriel were talking. A path led away from the house, continuing straight for a few paces before forking. Asriel waved at them to come closer. Between him and Asgore was a small potted sapling. There were two shovels propped against the wall. One of the shovels was massive, probably for Asgore. The other seemed pretty normal in human standards. Chara assumed that was for Asriel to use. They wondered why Asgore picked this place to plant a tree. It was too small here for a full grown tree to grow. Chara glanced up at the ceiling. It looked solid. They stepped closer.

"Howdy, Chara," Asgore said. "I was about to go in and see if you two wanted to help me in the garden today."

"I wanna help," Asriel said. He turned to Chara eagerly. Chara looked back up at the ceiling. If that collapsed, it wouldn't matter if they were inside the house or not. They looked down, shrugging. Asriel took that as a yes. "Chara does, too."

Chara shrugged again.

"Hey, dad." Asriel tugged on Asgore's sleeve. "Do you own any books about flowers?"

Asgore paused, "I did have one laying around a while ago." He rubbed his chin with a hand. "Yes, I think so. I will be sure to look for it after we are finished here."

"Okay." Asriel grabbed the smaller of the two shovels. With both hands, he dragged it to the middle of the room. Asriel raised the shovel high and struck the ground with a dull clang. The soil was barely disturbed. He jumped up and down on the shovel, trying to force it deeper into the ground.

Chara leaned against the cave wall to watch.

"Asriel, do you want me to start the hole?" Asgore asked.

Asriel huffed and wiped the sweat off of his head with an arm. "Nope." He jumped off the shovel and pushed down on the handle. After a moment's hesitation, the shovel came out of the ground. "Whew!" Asriel dumped the tiny bit of soil onto the ground nearby. He dropped the shovel and retreated to the side. "Okay, I started it." He slumped against the wall.

Chara let out a quiet giggle. Asriel's ears twitched in response. _Oh_. Chara smiled sheepishly. _I guess monsters have better hearing than humans do._

"You want to try, Chara?" Asriel asked.

They shook their head. They had been on their feet for a while now and their legs were starting to feel shaky. They sat down feeling sore and dizzy. Just walking from Asriel's room to here had made their head throb. "No."

Asgore stepped forward and in one smooth motion thrusted his shovel into the earth. He heaved out a clump of rocky dirt and tossed it to the side. Chara watched him dig. All they could think of was what it would look like for the monster to have a weapon in his hand. "Chara?"

They jumped.

Asgore was looking at them, holding the shovel in his hand like a scepter. He smiled. "You look interested. Would you care to finish the hole?"

"I'll do it!" Asriel jumped up from his place against the wall. "I can do it!"

"Let's give Chara a chance." Asgore held the shovel out of Asriel's reach. "Chara?"

Chara shook their head. "No," they mumbled. "I mean, thanks. No."

Asgore set the shovel back down. "Asriel?"

Asriel grabbed the shovel "Yeah!" His eyes were shining. "Thanks, Chara!"

Chara shrugged again.

Asriel looked determined. This time, when he was trying to dig, he kept one of his feet on the ground as he pushed the shovel into the dirt with the other. This proved to work better than his last attempt. He worked slowly for a few minutes before stepping aside to let his dad finish the job.

Asgore was quick to finish shoveling. He put the sapling into the ground to test the depth of the hole. "It looks like this will work. Asriel, could you refill my watering can?"

"Yep." Asriel nodded and raced inside the house, stumbling in his haste.

Chara smirked despite themself. He had so much energy.

They watched Asgore start to pat down the dirt under the tree. After a minute they looked up to see Asriel running down the path, splashing water in every direction.

"I'm back." Asriel tipped the watering can onto the dirt. The remaining water was barely enough to fill a small glass.

"Thank you both for your help today." Asgore took the watering can from Asriel. "You helped make my job go much faster."

You both? _I didn't even do anything._ Besides, Chara had the sneaking suspicion that Asgore would have gotten the job done much faster if he had worked by himself. They wondered why he had let Asriel help in the first place. Chara rose to their feet and dusted the dirt off of their knees. Monsters were weird.

Asgore turned to go back into the house. "I am going to get some more water for the tree."

Before long, he was back with a full can of water. Humming, he watered the soil. "Now, about that book." He gestured for them to follow him and began walking back towards the house. They crossed through several hallways before Asgore stopped in the living room. Chara hung back close to the wall where they could keep an eye on the monsters. Asgore leafed through the books. He selected one from the top shelf. "Ah, I knew it was here somewhere." He handed the book to Asriel.

"Hey, Chara, come here," Asriel said. Asgore excused himself to the kitchen. Chara waited for Asgore to be gone before venturing closer. Asriel scooted over on the armchair he was sitting on. "There's room."

"I'll sit here." Chara sat on the arm of the chair. "I can see better up here anyways." Their feet hung over the floor.

"Okay." Asriel flipped the book open to the first page.

"That one's a rose." Chara pointed at the flower on the inside cover.

Asriel turned to a random page "How about that one?" He pointed at a large pink flower.

Chara narrowed their eyes. "Hmm, I don't know." They pointed at the writing. "It's a chu-, a chu-san-thum."

"Oh, a chrysanthemum?" They both jumped and looked to the side to see Asgore walking towards them, holding a plate of sandwiches. He offered the sandwiches to them.

Both of them took a sandwich. Asriel and Chara looked through the book for a while. Chara pointed to pictures of flowers that they knew and told Asriel what they were.

"Wait a second." Asriel hopped out of the arm chair and ran out of the room. He returned clutching his sketchbook in one hand and a pencil in the other. "I wanna try drawing some." He plopped back down in the puffy chair.

He turned back to the first page to try to draw the rose. After a few minutes of silence, Asriel looked up from his drawing at Chara. "Do you wanna draw too?" he asked, offering his paper to Chara.

Chara shook their head. "Not right now," they stifled a yawn. "I'll just watch you draw for a while." Chara watched Asriel draw flower after flower. They had to admit, he was doing pretty good. They looked at the blob of shading that was supposed to be a chrysanthemum. They smiled.

Finally, Toriel came back from her trip to town. She looked at them, sitting on the chair together, reading a book. She smiled. "I see that you two are getting along well."

"Yep," Asriel grinned.

"Chara, is your chest still bothering you?" Toriel asked.

"Just sore," Chara said. "But it's not really bad so you don't have to heal me." They didn't want to be a bother.

"No, don't be silly, dear. I don't mind at all," Toriel said. She moved closer.

Chara slid off the chair, backing a step away. "I'm okay."

A frown crossed Toriel's face. "It will help you heal faster. You won't be so sore."

Chara realized something. If they wanted the best chance of getting away, they needed to be in as good of shape as possible. They hesitated and gave Toriel a nod. "I guess."

Toriel waved a hand and drew out Chara's soul. She glanced at it for only a second before waving it away, back into their body. "Your soul is doing a lot better, Chara." Toriel placed a hand onto their shoulder.

Chara flinched at the sudden warmth. It spread from their shoulder down to their fingertips and outwards to their chest. As it grew, they felt the pain disappear.

Chara took a few experimental steps towards their room. Only a hint of the pain they had been in a few days ago remained. "What do you want to do now?" Asriel said. "I can get out my drawing stuff or we can play a board game or we-"

He droned on. Chara yawned and rubbed their eyes.

"Asriel, I think it would be best if Chara went to bed for the night," Toriel said. "We don't want to tire them out too much, now do we?"

Chara shifted their eyes to the floor, hoping that they could go back to their room.

Asriel groaned, "But what am I supposed to do then?"

"You tell me. You seem to have managed up until now," Toriel said, a hint of a smile on her lips. She led the two of them to Chara's room. "Why don't you go outside and play? Chara needs to get some rest so that they can get better."

Asriel sighed. "Okay mom."

Chara walked into their room, shutting the door softly behind them. Chara looked down at their clothes, still splotched with mud stains from the day they came here. Maybe they should change. They looked down at the monster embroidered blanket. What if they got that dirty? They glared at the clothes, giving it a small kick that sent the pajamas into a puddle in the middle of the floor. Why should they care about what happens to the monsters' stuff? They were only going to be there for day or two longer.

Chara got into the bed, pulling their covers up to their face. They let themself relax and for the first time that day, monster's weren't on the forefront of their thoughts. Chara's mind wandered.

 _Her_.

Their heart felt like it was hit by a club. They squeezed their eyes shut, trying to forget that day. They couldn't. They flinched, recalling the shatter of glass. The moment when her cry was cut off. But, as their subconscious dug through their tangled, matted mess of memories, they realized something far more important. Their heart thumped wildly in their chest and a faint thread of hope pulsed through their body. How could they have known for sure that she had died?

She hadn't been moving. They pressed their hands into their scalp, trying to remember what they had heard. Had she been breathing? Maybe she was just stunned? Chara didn't know. They lay in bed for what felt like hours, trying to remember anything else. They couldn't. Chara clawed at already dissipating memories until they fell asleep.

* * *

 _Chara was walking fast through the streets of their town. They had been out late and had to get home. Even though the sun had only been down for an hour, the street was devoid of people. This felt oddly familiar. A cold fall wind was blowing. Chara shivered and slipped their hands under their armpits. It was colder than they had remembered it being. And lonelier._

 _They knew that they had to keep moving._

 _Why did they go this way? They were in the bad part of town. At night. Something prompted them to walk faster. Something was missing. Someone was missing. Their heart beat fast, as if it already knew what would happen next. They cast a glance behind them. They couldn't hear anything, but they knew something was coming. They started to jog._

 _A glass bottle clinked as it hit the ground. They spun around. Something in the shadows moved. They ran, feet clattering against the concrete. They could hear loud footsteps behind them. Their eyes went wide and they increased their pace. They heard heavy breathing behind them, growing louder. They couldn't stop or else-_

 _Chara spotted the pothole in the road too late and tripped. They let out a scream, "Help me!" They got back to their feet, taking off as quick as possible. But they were too slow. Someone grabbed their shoulder and flung them to the ground-_

"Chara." Someone was shaking their shoulder. "Chara!"

They clenched a fist and struck out at their attacker.

"Oof!"

Chara blinked their eyes open, squinting in the harsh light. They were in their room on the carpet. They must have rolled off. They looked up, shaking.

Oh no.

Asriel stood a few steps away, whimpering, holding his cheek in his hands.

"No." They looked at their still clenched fist. They pulled it straight. "I didn't try to." The room was tinted red. They looked for the source. It was them. Hovering above their chest was their soul, pulsing and healthy. Chara found that they could sense its number: Twenty. Full. Looking at Asriel, they saw something else.

Asriel Dreemurr: HP 80/100

Their eyes went wide in horror and they shifted backwards. They had hurt a monster. Whatever horror the monsters had planned for them would be nothing compared to what they would get now. Chara looked up, fully expecting the parents to stomp in. Nobody came. Their soul slipped back inside. _I didn't want to fight._ They doubted that the monsters would see it that way.

"I wasn't trying to-" Their voice was hoarse. They rose to their feet, wondering if they could outrun a monster. Even if they could, it was useless. They didn't know where the exit was. "I'm sorry."

For a few tense seconds, Asriel said nothing. Not sure if that was a good sign or not, Chara took a tentative step forward. Asriel bit his lip. They flinched, catching sight of his fangs. He sniffled and looked at them. "You hurt me." He stepped forward, clawed hand splayed wide toward them. "Chara, are you-"

"No!" They stumbled backwards, trying to get away from him. They backed into the pile of clothes and lost their balance. They crashed to the ground, hitting their head on the bed frame. Everything went hazy for a few seconds.

"Chara! Are you okay?" Asriel was crouched next to them, a hand slipped under their head to cushion it. They realized where they were. The monster was right next to them. They flinched out of his grasp and scooted away.

They were terrified. They had hurt him and he was mad. He was going to get his payback for what they did to him and then some, most likely. They shook, trying to stifle a sob. He grabbed their wrist. "What's wrong, Char-"

They let out a ragged sob. "Please don't." They folded their knees into their chest, ducking their head to protect it as best they could. They couldn't look at him. "Don't kill me." The words came out, a whisper between sobs. They were shaking and crying, waiting for him to retaliate. His grip on their wrist let up and they winced, expecting pain. They didn't hear anything, but they didn't dare look up.

 _He's gone to get the other monsters. They're going to come here hurt me. Break every bone in my body one by one._ Their sobs had turned into hiccups There was nothing left to cry for. They were dead. _Then they will leave me in the dark for weeks and let me suffer. He's a monster, he probably will-_

A sound brought them out of their thoughts. Their eyes widened. He's still here. He's ready to pounce. He's… They heard it again, louder.

 _...crying?_

Sniffling, Chara wiped the tears from their face. Chara looked up. Asriel was standing in the doorway, sobbing. They didn't understand. They scooted back against the bed frame.

Tears matted Asriel's fur to his face. He hiccupped, barely able to speak in between sobs. "I scare you, don't I?" He backed up a step. "I'm sorry, Chara," he cried. "I didn't try to." Asriel sniffled and wiped his face. He looked at them. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Chara watched Asriel cry. His act was convincing. Too convincing. They could feel part of them wanting to believe him. Still, Chara stayed silent.

"I'm sorry," Asriel cried. "I…" His shoulders shook and he wiped his eyes with his hands. He took a long breath, sniffling and gave them one long look. His gaze forced Chara to lower theirs to the ground. At last, he backed up. "Night, Chara."

They said nothing, continuing to look down. They didn't want to see his tear streaked face when he left the room. Asriel shut the door behind him.

From the other side of the door, they could hear him let out a cry. It grew fainter as he padded down the hall, probably to his room, before it faded out completely. Chara felt a pang in their heart.

Conflicted, Chara rubbed their fingers against their front temple. They were feeling bad about him, a monster. The monsters tricks were working. They had to leave and leave soon. Chara waited a few seconds to make sure that no one was coming before standing up. They tried walking around, testing their body. Everything felt good. The healing magic had left only a faint ache in their muscles. They were going to get out of there.

They were filled with determination.

 _And if anyone tries to stop me._ They scanned the room, seeing if there was anything useful. They grabbed a book off of the bottom shelf, thin enough to be lightweight, but hard covered. It was a sorry excuse for a weapon, and Chara knew it, but it would at least pack a punch.

They left it on their nightstand, easily within reach. They would wait until everyone was asleep. Then, they would make a break for it.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! This fanfiction will update every Friday at 8:00pm. From now on, I will be recommending some sort of Undertale fan creation in every author's note. I'll start things off with a fanfiction. 'Reach Out' by JenniferMarie is amazing! Totally check it out if you have some free time. See you next week! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Every floorboard creak and hushed word that passed through the door caused Chara's heart to skip a beat. They pulled with the frayed end of their sleeve, digging the thread into their fingers until their nails turned purple. A deep voice rumbled through the wall. They gripped their sleeve tighter. There was nothing that they could do but wait.

The monsters were talking about them. All they could hear from behind the thick oak door were low voices and whispers, too muffled to decipher. Asriel could be telling his parents what happened. How would they react? What if Asgore and Toriel decided to hurt them now before they had a chance to escape? Was it worth the risk to slip out before the monsters went to bed?

The house was long and narrow. There was nowhere to hide and Chara doubted that they would be able to slip out undetected. They decided to wait it out. The voices droned on and on. What was taking so long? The monsters should have been asleep by now. Perhaps it was earlier than they had thought?

Someone stomped down the hall and Chara tensed. The door to their room was opened. They pretended to be asleep, heart beating erratically. After a few long seconds, the door closed. The voices faded out completely. The monsters were going to bed. In a little bit, they would all be asleep. Chara settled back in their bed and waited.

They woke with a start. How long had they been asleep? Five minutes? Five hours? They listened. The house was quiet. Chara sat up and slipped out of bed. It was time to go. They grabbed the book and hugged it to their chest. Quietly, they stole over to the door, opening it enough to peek out. The whole house was dark, illuminated only by a single lamp in the living room.

Chara opened the door slowly and stepped into the dark hall. Everything was silent. Near the end of the hall they took a step and the plank creaked under their weight. With no other noise, the creak of the wood sounded as loud as thunder. They stood motionless, sure that they had been heard. Nothing. They took a hesitant step. At the end of the hallway they paused one last time to make sure that no one had woken. The house remained still. They turned the corner and opened the front door.

Chara panicked for a moment. They must have made a mistake. The lights inside had been turned off, but the monster's backyard remained as lit as it was yesterday. Was it still daytime? Chara looked up at the ceiling. Purple tinted crystals hung in large clusters overhead, lighting the path. They let out a silent sigh. They were in a cave. There wouldn't be a day and night schedule. The crystals would give off the same amount of light, regardless of the time of day. They felt stupid.

Wary of monsters, they looked down the path until the road split. It seemed like nobody was awake. Chara wondered if Asriel had been lying. Maybe there weren't any more monsters.

Their legs were stiff from sleeping. They walked as fast as their aching body would let them. What would happen if they were seen? There wasn't anywhere for them to hide and they couldn't run very well yet. The toe of their shoe bumped into a pebble that clattered against the stone. Their head snapped up, alert. They walked slower, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

Chara poked their head around the curve of the path. The path was narrower than the front yard was, at least until it turned a corner. They turned their head to look down the other path, noticing how similar both ways looked. Chara wanted to put distance between them and the house so they chose one at random. At the end of that path was a turn. Then another. Then another. The ground didn't seem to slant up or even give the impression that they were nearing an exit.

They passed under a tall archway into a large cavern. The road they walked had houses all along it, other roads intersecting every block. The houses were a lot smaller and closer together. They must have traveled the wrong way. They were in a monster town.

They spotted a small white blog hopping ahead and darted against the wall. The frog monster jumped across the street and disappeared into one of the houses. They breathed a sigh of relief and kept walking, staying to the side of the road.

Chara felt uneasy. There were too many nooks and crannies. Too many side streets and places that monsters could be hiding. They picked up their pace. Chara glanced down each street as they passed, on the watch for monsters. So far, they hadn't come across any more of them. Chara picked up the pace, remembering the last time they had walked on a street like this.

Behind them someone laughed. Chara wheeled around and saw two monsters walking towards them. They dove into a narrow alley between two of the houses. They held their book, ready. Chara waited for a shout of alarm to spring from the monsters and for them to give chase. The footsteps got closer and Chara heard voices.

"Yeah, from the surface! Everybody's been talking about it."

There was a groan. "Those are just rumors, aren't they?"

The monsters were getting closer. Chara took a small step back. Pebbles crunched under their feet. They shot a look over their shoulder. The alley went another twenty or thirty feet back before ending with a stone wall. If the monsters turned into the alley, they would be trapped. They clutched the book tighter.

"They aren't just rumors. I saw it!" The monster snapped back indignantly.

"Cool, so what was it?"

"I don't know," they said. The voices grew louder. "The king's so much taller than me. I only saw brown hair."

"A dog, maybe? Wouldn't he have let the pack take care of them, then?"

"Maybe." There was a long pause. When the monster spoke again, their voice was soft. "It looked really hurt." The conversation became too far away to hear. Heart pounding, Chara breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't been spotted. They let the book slip out of their hands and leaned against the wall.

Chara peeked out behind the corner to catch a glimpse of the monsters. They were small and didn't seem all that dangerous. One was green and chubby. It had a blue shell, like a turtle. The other one looked like a gray cat. They were surprised to see other species of monsters. Part of them had thought that all monsters were goat people.

Chara gazed at the ceiling overhead. Getting out was going to be trickier than they had thought. They had absolutely no clue where to go. There were so many little roads and turns, but all of them seemed to loop back to the town. A monster crossed the street and Chara ducked back into the alley. A couple other monsters were standing and chatting further down. They decided to turn back. Everyone was starting to wake up and Chara was still no closer to finding the exit. They must have went the wrong way. They should have taken the other way from the house. Chara looked around, finding the archway a little higher than the others. That was the way back to the house. They ran down the street, pausing between cross roads to make sure that no one was coming. They looked down at their empty hands.

The book was gone!

They groaned. It was still in the alley, not too far away. They didn't know if Toriel and Asgore would notice the missing book, but what could they say if they did? Their legs were starting to ache from the exercise. They returned to the alley.

The book was lying on the ground. Chara picked it up, brushing off a layer of dirt and turned to run back. They walked straight into a monster. Chara wheeled out of the way, grunting as they felt their already sore ankle roll.

"heh, sorry 'bout that." The kid propped a hand on their back to support them. Chara pulled away. "what's the rush-" His expression faltered.

He knew.

Chara pushed past him and ran. A block away, they dared to glance back. He was watching. forehead furrowed and mouth hanging open. They kept running, pushing through the twisting pain in their ankle. They made it through the archway. Turning a corner, they slowed to a stop.

Another monster stood quietly, hands locked together over his chest. He looked over to them, nodding as if he had expected them to come. Chara took a step backward.

"You went on a jog around Home, Chara?" he asked, his fingers removing a piece of lint from his black suit coat.

Chara starred. They weren't fingers. His fingers were long, pale, and thin. Chara paled. They were looking at a skeleton.

The monster grasped his hands behind his back. "I have to say, I am quite surprised that you feel up to it. That is good news. Though, why are you up so early?"

Chara looked down, biting their lip.

He chuckled at their worried expression. "You're still nervous about the monsters here, is that right?" He held his hands up and smiled reassuringly. "You have no need to be scared, Chara. I assure you, I mean no harm." He held out a bleach white hand. "My name is Dr. Gaster."

Chara didn't move.

He dropped his hand after a second, seeming to understand their hesitance. "You were out here very early. You must have wanted a view around town without many monsters around, is that accurate?"

The monster had just given them a potential way out of this mess. He watched them, waiting for a response. Chara nodded.

"But you didn't want everyone else to have to wake up so early."

They forced themself to look as relaxed as possible. "Yeah," they shrugged. "But then some monster scared me."

"So I heard." He shook his head amused, mumbling something that they didn't hear.

"So, um…" Chara said. "I think I should be going."

"Of course. Let me escort you back." Gaster turned.

Chara felt their paranoia grow. He knew that they were lying. Chara bit their lip. They didn't trust him. They wanted him to leave as soon as possible. Gaster started down the hall, looking back to make sure that they were coming. Chara walked after him.

Gaster stood at the turn. "Here we are. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Chara."

"Yeah." Chara stepped around him and walked towards the house. "Wait..." They paused, starting to turn back. "How do you know my-" They felt a swish of air he was already gone. Unnerved, they ran back inside. Chara slipped back through the door. They pushed the door shut and slid down against it, trying to slow their breathing. Their entire plan had fallen apart. That might have been their only chance to escape. They couldn't leave again and take the other path. What if that skeleton thing was waiting for them? What if they got caught by him again? What would he do?

There wasn't anything left for them to do. Chara stood up on their shaking legs and limped to their room. They collapsed into bed, spent. Chara closed their eyes. There had to be another way to leave. That skeleton thing couldn't guard the paths forever. Chara felt a surge of something in their chest, a candle reigniting. They still had hope. They were going to get out of there. They had to. They had to know the truth, good or bad. Alive or dead. She deserved justice.

The door creaked open. "Chara, are you awake?" Asriel whispered.

Chara didn't answer, glad to have gotten back when they did. Relief washed over them. What would have happened if they had been a few minutes later? After a few seconds of silence, the door closed. Chara rolled onto their side, pulling their quilt up to their neck. They sighed. They could already tell that they wouldn't be able to sleep. Adrenaline still coursed through their limbs. Their ankle throbbed. Monsters roamed the halls of the house. How could they sleep?

Chara fell back onto their back. Ugly thoughts that nerves had warded off were starting to resurface. What would happen when Gaster or another monster told Asgore and Toriel about them wandering around town? Or what about the disaster last night? What would happen to them for hurting Asriel, even if it was on accident? Chara stared at the ceiling, thoughts whispering in their ears. Shadows danced on the walls, writhing, stretching out pointed talons, ready to-

Chara turned on the lamp. The shadows vanished. They hated the dark. Chara sat up, pushing knotted hair out of their eyes. They needed something to keep their mind busy. Their eyes scanned the room, falling on the bookcase. Chara pulled their legs out from under their blankets and stepped out of bed, the wooden floor cold against their feet. They walked over to the bookcase, ignoring their aching ankle.

All of the books lining the shelves were old, just like in Asriel's bookcase. Chara ran their finger along the books' cracked spines. Dust coated the paper covers. Chara frowned. One of the books didn't fit with the rest of the beaten volumes. They picked it off the shelf. The book wasn't nearly as worn as the majority of the others. It was covered with a glossy plastic cover, protecting the book from wear. Chara squinted. The faint lamp light made it hard to make out the title.

"The History of Humans and Monsters," they read. Chara took it back to their bed where the lighting was better.

They opened the book, expecting a boring passage in tiny print, but were surprised to see a large picture that took up most of the page, leaving only the space for a few lines of writing. They held the paper away from the shadow they casted to make out the picture: Silhouettes of a human and a monster holding hands. Intrigued, they read the first page.

Humans and monsters once lived together peacefully. The two species shared the earth and sky. Human souls were much stronger than us monsters. The humans had nothing to fear.

They flipped the page. There was a drawing of a single yellow heart.

Then, a great power was discovered. Since a human soul persists for a few seconds after death, a monster could absorb that soul. With the combined power of these souls, they could grow into a being with near limitless power.

The page was darker, the only color orange torch light, contrasting with dark silhouettes raising swords into the air.

The humans were terrified. They didn't want this power to be used, so war was waged on the monsters.

Chara furrowed their eyebrows. That wasn't how the war had started. Monsters attacked the humans first, without reason, and the humans retaliated. They didn't remember this being part of the story. Maybe this was some other monster war. They flipped the page. There was a human holding up a spear.

The humans attacked viciously. In the brief days the war took place, whole species of monsters died out. We surrendered to the humans. Any monsters who resisted were slaughtered. The rest were banished down here. Away from the sun and the sky and the stars.

They were getting close to the end of the book. This page centered around the humans. There were seven of them with all different colors of souls.

Seven powerful wizards worked together to seal us monsters from the outside world. The constructed the barrier, a-

"Howdy, Chara!"

Chara jumped. They looked at Asriel anxiously, thoughts of yesterday seeping into their mind.

Asriel grinned, one arm hidden behind his back. "How did you sleep?"

Chara shrugged. They narrowed their eyes and tried to see what Asriel was holding. He pulled his arm further behind him.

"What book are you reading?" Asriel cocked his head to the side. "Oh, cool. I like that book," Asriel said with his usual over-the-top enthusiasm and shot them a smile.

Chara looked at the book and frowned. The monsters had attacked the humans. That's how the true stories went. The war had been long and bloody. Many humans were cut down. It didn't seem like the same war. It couldn't be the same war. They frowned, shrugging again.

Asriel's smile faltered for a second. "You okay?" He walked a couple of steps closer. "If it's about yesterday, I'm really sorry."

He's sorry?

"No, I'm tired." Chara lied. They gave an exaggerated yawn and stretched their arms in the air.

"That's good," Asriel said. His grin reappeared. "I've got a surprise for you. Close your eyes."

Chara hesitated, "Wha-"

"Close them!"

They shut their eyes, shoulders tensed.

"No peeking."

They clenched a fist and waited. They heard Asriel walk over next to them. His claw touched their ear and they flinched away.

"Sorry," he giggled. "I didn't know that you were ticklish." He slid something behind their ear. "Ok, you can open your eyes now."

Chara opened up their eyes and brought their hand up to their hair. Their finger brushed the velvety surface of a petal. It was a flower. They smiled, slow and sad. "Thanks."

* * *

Thank you for reading! If you are looking for a great read, you should totally read _One by One_ by CourierNew.


	5. Chapter 5

Asriel ran over to the closet. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled, swinging the door open so hard that it slammed into the bookcase and rebounded closed. He narrowed his eyes at the closet and tried again, more gently this time. He grabbed a stack of precariously balanced boxes from the top shelf. "Wanna play a board game?"

Chara shrugged, looking down. Their gaze fell on the book they had used that morning. It laid open, pages splayed on the floor in front of them. Their heart lurched. What if he noticed that it was out of place? What if he found out that they had left? Chara slowly swung their legs over the side of the bed. They glanced at Asriel. He was laying all of the board games out on the floor for them to see. He hadn't noticed the book yet. They lowered their feet until their toes touched the floor and nudged the book under the bed, out of sight.

"You can pick." Asriel hopped onto the bed next to them, dipping the mattress. He pointed to the one closest to them. "That's Monster Dash. I also have High Fly, Twinkle, Creeper, Checkers, Take Up 20, Happy Town, and Candy Tropolis." He bounced on the mattress, his ears flopping up and down. "Any of those sound fun?"

Chara was lost. They had expected that Asriel would be mad at them. He wasn't. They looked from one unfamiliar game to another. Why was Asriel being so nice? The monsters had been caring for them since they came here. If they were going to hurt them, why delay?

They realized that the room had gone silent. They looked at Asriel. He was waiting, absentmindedly twirling his ear with a finger. He probably wanted a response. They pointed to the only game they recognized.

"Okay." Asriel grabbed the box and jumped to his feet. "I love Checkers. I'll make some space." He swung his foot back and gave a big kick, sending one of the games smashing into the wall.

Chara jumped.

"Oops, sorry…" Asriel's ears drooped. He stacked the board games neatly against the wall. He opened the checkers box and grabbed the board. "I'll set it up," he said, already starting to sort the pieces. "Do you want to be red or black?"

Chara slipped out of the bed and sat on the floor. After a moment's hesitation, they grabbed the red pieces.

Asriel pushed the remaining pieces onto his side. "You can go first."

They eyed the rows of enemy pieces. They needed to figure out how to jump all of them. They took the piece at the end and moved it forward, keeping it near the side where it would stay safer. A few moves in and they had already jumped two of Asriel's pieces. They found themself enjoying the game. The battle was furious, many brave pieces on both sides were brought down. Noble sacrifices had to be made.

Asriel jumped one of Chara's pieces. He giggled. "You didn't see that coming, did you?"

Chara grinned. The trap had worked perfectly. They hopped over two of Asriel's pieces and landed on his side of the board. "King me." They looked up to catch his reaction.

"What?" Asriel's mouth hung open. "Aww, dang it." He flipped over their red piece.

"Up already, I see."

Chara shifted around to see who was there.

Toriel stood in the doorway. She smiled at both of them warmly. "What is that in your hair, Chara?"

Chara brought their hand up to their head. "Uh…"

"I gave Chara one of the flowers from the garden," Asriel said.

Toriel smiled. "That was nice of you, my child. Are either of you hungry for breakfast?"

"Yeah." Asriel looked back at the board game and moved a piece forward.

Toriel chuckled softly, shaking her head. She turned the corner, appearing a few minutes later with two generous slices of pie.

"How'd you do that?" Asriel asked, wide eyed.

"I reheated leftover pie with my fire magic." Toriel held both plates out for Chara to see. "You can pick first, Chara."

They looked at both slices. The pies looked about the same. Chara grabbed one.

"Can we eat breakfast outside?" Asriel asked, already getting up to his feet.

"That sounds like an excellent idea." She turned to Chara. "Are you feeling up for that, Chara?"

The monsters were going to let them walk around outside. Escape just got a lot easier. Chara gave Toriel a huge grin. "I'm feeling great." They rose to their feet, too fast. Their hurt ankle rolled and they grunted. "Yeah, I guess I'm still a little sore."

Toriel frowned. "Oh dear. If you are not up to it maybe you should stay inside for a few more days."

"No, I'm fine."

Toriel's eyebrows creased, but she stepped back from the door. Chara stiffened, walking past her. They gritted their teeth, trying not to limp while Toriel was watching. They followed Asriel out the door.

"I will be in the living room," Toriel shut the door.

Chara stepped down the concrete stairs and into the yard, a sad, dry expanse of dirt scattered with weak blades of grass and dead leaves. Chara waited for Asriel to show them where to go now, but instead he flopped down on the dead leaves and leaned against the wall. He looked up at them. "Aren't you gonna sit?" He patted the ground next to him and grinned. "You can sit by me."

Chara frowned. 'Outside' only had meant outside of the house.

Asriel tilted his head, his ears flopping to the side. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Chara shrugged, lowering themself carefully to the ground. They drew their knees up to their chest, balancing their plate on their feet. They could feel Asriel watching them. Chara was careful not to look at him. Their chest twisted with anxiety. They were certain that Asriel was still angry. A gust of wind brushed through their hair, tickling the soft flower petals against their ear. The knot in their chest loosened.

Chara cut a sliver of pie with the edge of their fork. Bronze apple juice oozed from the creamy filling. They took a hesitant bite. It was sweet and still warm. They let the apple piece sit on their tongue, relishing the taste.

They snapped their eyes open as metal clattered. Next to them Asriel had dropped his fork onto his ceramic plate. Chra shifted their eyes away from him. They could still feel his eyes studying them. In their peripheral vision, Chara saw Asriel opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but stopped. They watched him out of the corner of his eye.

The tension was building pressure up in Chara's chest again. If he wanted to yell at them about last night, he should just get on with it. Asriel opened his mouth again.

"What?" Chara asked. They balled their hand into a fist, clutching their fork.

Asriel's ears drooped and he looked away. "Sorry. You're eating."

"No," The fork's handle dug into their palm. "What is it?" Chara took another bite.

"I…" Asriel placed his empty plate onto the ground and sighed. "What's it like on the surface?"

The question caught Chara off guard. They loosened their grip on the fork. Why did he sound so wistful? Why did he care? He should walk up there and check it out for himself. A wave of memories washed over Chara. Their last days on the surface. They tightened their grip on the fork again and lowered their eyes. "What about it?" they muttered.

"The sky."

Chara furrowed their eyebrows, meeting his wide eyes. "You've never seen the sky before?"

"Nope. My parents have though..." he trailed off, his eyes widening. "Wait, you know about the sun then, right?"

They raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…"

"My parents have seen that, too. How cool is that? They said that the sun is so bright that you aren't able to look right at it."

The monsters really were stuck down there. Chara frowned. What if there wasn't an exit? Why else would Asriel be so excited about such a mundane concept?

"What about you?" Asriel asked. "What's your life like up there?" Asriel bounced onto his knees. "My parents told me stories of growing up there. They said that you can run and run and never reach an end. No cave walls ever! I bet that must have been awesome."

Chara didn't say anything. They looked down and picked at their pie.

"Are there a lot of humans up there?" Asriel tilted his head. "Do you have a lot of friends?"

Not anymore.

Their throat tightened. "No," they said fast, looking away.

"Oh…" He went quiet. Chara ate the rest of their pie, filling the silence with the scrape of their fork against their plate. Once they had finished, Asriel stood up. "Here, I'll put them away." His smile looked forced. He grabbed their dishes and ran into the house.

Chara looked down the path. They should try to leave. The only problem was that Asriel could return at any moment. They waited. The door opened and they looked up. Asriel hopped down the steps. Toriel followed behind them, dress hem dragging on the concrete.

"Children," Toriel said. "You can continue to play outside, but please stay in this room. It is dangerous to venture too far away while Chara is recovering." Toriel smiled warmly at them. She picked a leaf out of Asriel's fur, smiling, and shook her head at Chara. She walked behind them. Chara listened for the click of the door shutting.

Chara stood up. They winced as a stab of pain shot up their ankle. "Hey," they tried to sound nonchalant. "Let's go over here." They picked up a rotting branch from the ground and dug it into the dirt.

"Chara, what are you doing?" Asriel's nervous voice sounded behind them.

"Exploring?" Chara tried. Asriel didn't immediately say anything so they kept walking. Then they felt something grab their sleeve. They turned, flinching away. It was Asriel.

"My mom said to stay here." He shifted his weight from one foot to another nervously.

Chara twisted their arm away from Asriel's grasp and continued down the hallway. "She said she doesn't want me to get hurt, but I'm fine. See?" They couldn't help but be surprised that they had gotten this far. They grinned, turning away so that Asriel wouldn't see their smirk.

"But mom said-"

"Toriel will be fine. We'll be back by the time she checks on us." Where the road split, they looked both ways and turned to Asriel. "Come on. We can stay nearby."

Asriel sighed, defeated. "Okay."

Chara clasped their hands together. "Great. You know this area, where should we go?"

"Hm…" Asriel paused, looking down both paths.

They were underground. An exit would have to be somewhere high up. "Any place that's higher up than here?" Chara asked.

"Well, we could go to Home's overlook. You can see the whole city from there."

Chara started walking. "Sounds good to me. Let's go."

"Chara, wrong way."

"Oh." They turned.

Asriel pointed back the way they had come. "It's down the other path." They walked until they reached a staircase. "There's a couple steps here, Chara," he warned. "Here, I'll help you up." He put a paw on their shoulder for support, but Chara shrugged him off.

"I'm fine, Asriel," they muttered and walked up the steps. Asriel followed behind. They were nearing the halfway point when Chara stumbled on an uneven step. They threw out their hands to catch themself. Avoiding Asriel's worried gaze, they pushed past him. Up the stairs and limping up the edge to the landing.

Like many parts of the monster city, the porch was carved completely of stone. There was a thick railing to keep monsters safe. Chara walked to the railing to get a better look at the city. The stone ledge was tall, but they were able to look over it with ease. They pushed themself up and swung their legs over the railing. They sat on the ledge, dangling their feet over the precipice. Asriel followed suit, propping himself up on his tiptoes to poke his head over the railing.

The town looked small from here. Small, but alive. Even from high up here, they could hear the blabber of voices and sounds of the monsters below them. No one looked up or seemed to notice them at all. Most monsters walked at a leisurely pace. Chara could see a group of smaller monsters sprint through the streets, darting around monsters as they ran around.

The town was busy. At one part, a monster was selling hats of all shapes and sizes, waving an especially long hat in the air. In another part, one street had been closed off and Chara saw a group of monsters digging into the ground. Whether this was to build a garden or fix the street, Chara wasn't certain.

Almost directly below them, they could see a slug monster. It didn't appear big from up here, but up close it was probably only slightly shorter than them. It was sweeping the streets clean of dust and trash. A trail of slime followed wherever the slug went, ruining all of its hard work. Chara couldn't help but let out a small grin. "There are so many monsters down there."

"Yeah," Asriel said. "Home isn't all that big once you get to know it."

"Well, what about the other towns?"

Asriel shook his head. "There aren't other towns."

This was the only place for them. Chara stared at him, forehead creased. "That's pretty small." They turned back towards the town. For awhile they continued to watch the monsters below in a comfortable silence.

"Hey, Chara." Asriel was the one who broke the silence. "We should get going. I don't want to get in trouble and we've already been gone for awhile."

Chara sighed. "Okay." They jumped down from the railing. They turned back for one more look at the city before following Asriel down the stairs.

Asriel looked up at them and frowned.

"What?"

"The flower. It fell out." Asriel turned around and scanned the path. After a few seconds, he pointed up the stairs. "I found it." He ran up and snatched the lost flower from the ground. "Here you go." He fixed it back into their hair.

Chara touched it gently to ensure that it was secure and followed Asriel back into the yard. Their eyes felt heavy. They blinked hard a few times and let out a yawn.

The yawn spread to Asriel. "You getting tired?" he asked.

"A little." Chara shrugged, rubbing their eyes.

"Well, maybe we should go back inside," Asriel said. "So you can sleep. Or we could play another board game or…" he trailed off, eyes fixed past on something behind them.

Chara turned around. A tiny monster was waddling toward them, dressed in a bright red jumper. He looked young, at least by human standards, but Chara wasn't sure that human standards applied in the underground. He took another step toward them and swayed, almost losing his balance. He shot his arms out, teetering precariously before he steadied himself. The monster looked up at them and gave them a wide smile, waving wildly. "HEWO!"

* * *

This week was as chaotic as can be, but here you go! Hmm, I wonder who that new character is... Also, you should check out the fanfiction 'Corrupted Files' by PetalThorn. Warning: lots of angst! I hope that you enjoyed the story. Have a good day.


	6. Chapter 6

Asriel tilted his head. "Howdy! Where did you come from?" he asked, his mouth curled up in a smile.

"Home!" The toddler shouted. He lost his balance, his arms waving in the air. He fell onto his butt and sat there, his limbs splayed out, shock etched onto his face. Chara worried that he might start crying. They glanced at Asriel. They didn't know how to handle kids. Chara felt their chest tighten. What if his parents followed him? What would they do if they thought their son was being hurt?

Before Chara could process the fear spinning in their head, the toddler shook the shock off of his face. He pushed himself to his knees and made his way back onto his shaky feet. His onesie hood flopped off. Chara stared. A smooth, white skull sat on his neck. Long, bone fingers peeked out from the sleeves of his onesie. He gazed up at them, black holes where his eyes should have been.

Chara faced a smile at the youngster. He gave them both one last look and started to waddle away.

"Wait," Asriel called out. "Where's your family? Are you here all alone?"

The toddler twisted back around, giggling. "My brother's asweep and I was bored. I want to expwore."

"You shouldn't be exploring all by yourself." Asriel walked to him and held out his hand, which the toddler took without hesitation. "Let's go find your family." Asriel paused and turned around. "Chara, are you okay? You look tired."

"I'm fine." Chara waved his question away. They were feeling tired, but things had just gotten a lot more interesting. He was crazy if he thought they'd go back in the house. They wanted to see more of the town.

Asriel squatted down to be at the toddler's height. "My name's Asriel. What's your name?"

"Papyrus!"

Asriel bit his lip and turned back to Chara. "Maybe you should stay here. This may take awhile."

Chara crossed their arms. "I'm fine." They started down the hallway, placing a hand against the wall and letting their fingers graze the rough, uneven lines of bricks.

"Okay."

Chara paused for a moment to let Asriel catch up. Papyrus let go of Asriel's hand and lifted both of his hands towards Chara. "Up," he commanded.

Chara turned their head up at the ceiling and then over at Asriel. "What?"

Asriel giggled. "He wants you to carry him."

"I probably shouldn't." Chara stepped back.

Papyrus tottered forward and pulled on their sleeve. He gave an impressive puppy dog face to Chara and waved his arms in the air. "Up. Up."

Chara sighed. They bent over and carefully picked Papyrus up. They held him in their arms awkwardly, but he snuggled right up next to them, almost immediately falling asleep. He didn't weigh very much.

Hah, just skin and bones, I guess. They looked down at the skeleton. No, scratch that. Just bones.

"Where do we go now?" Chara asked.

"We'll walk to the end of the hall and ask him where to go. Or maybe I should get mom." He frowned, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "I'm not sure."

"Papyrus!" Someone called out from around the corner.

That voice… It was familiar. That was one of the monsters they had seen that morning. Chara's grip tightened, making Papyrus give a little squeak of indignance.

"Papyrus!" The voice called out again. It sounded desperate. Chara paused, letting Asriel turn the corner first.

There was a skeleton, dressed in a white, faded t-shirt. He was frowning. "Heya, have you seen…" He trailed off, eyes locking onto Chara. He grabbed Papyrus from their arms and stepped back.

He recognized them. Chara shifted their gaze to the ground.

The skeleton took another step back, looking down at Papyrus who was sleeping like a rock against his chest. He turned to Asriel. "Is everything okay here?" They were surprised to hear a pinch of worry in his voice.

Asriel's eyebrows creased, "Why wouldn't it be okay?"

The skeleton eyed Chara. "No reason. I'm sorry about Papyrus. We shouldn't be here, right?" he asked, concern etched onto his face.

"Other monsters don't come here very often." Asriel shrugged, leaning against the wall. "But it's not like you aren't allowed to be here or something."

The monster relaxed, his jaw resuming his regular grin. "Thanks for finding my brother. My name's Sans. I owe you one. I would shake hands but, y'know." He notched his head towards Papyrus.

Papyrus yawned and squirmed, resting his head on Sans' shoulder.

"My name's Asriel."

The skeleton smirked. "'Course I know your name. Most monsters do." He chuckled and shook his head. Chara shot Asriel a confused look. He didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, and this is Chara." Asriel pointed at them.

Chara looked away, focusing their attention on a streak of dirt on the end of their sleeve.

Sans watched them. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Chara glanced up at his from the corner of their eye, watching his grin widen, revealing a look of mischief. Any lingering doubt that Chara had in their mind vanished. He knew.

"Chara's a human," Asriel said. "They fell down a couple days ago and my family's been taking care of them."

Sans was quiet for a few seconds.

Chara waited for him to say something that gave them away.

"That's cool." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. "Heh. I always thought that humans were, I dunno, scarier?"

Asriel stood back up and frowned at him. "Chara's not scary. They're super nice. Human's can't be that bad."

Chara looked at Asriel. His eyes seemed big and trusting, with an unmistakable sense of innocence. He was so quick to defend them and their species. Chara realized that Asriel genuinely cared about them.

Chara also realized how long it's been since someone had.

Sans took a step toward them. Chara instinctively shifted closer to Asriel.

"Don't worry." Sans backed away, adjusting his hold on his brother so that he could raise a hand in peace. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Sorry, I..." Chara kicked a rock down the path.

Sans' eye sockets widened. "So they speak," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah." Chara attempted a relaxed smile, the exact opposite of how they felt right now. "It's just that meeting new…" Their mind blanked for a moment, debating if the word 'people' would be used in this case. "...creatures is hard." They said calmly, though their shaking knees and the clammyness of their hands betrayed them.

"You worried or something?" Sans chuckled. "You shouldn't be the scared one. Humans are way stronger than monsters."

Chara shook their head. "But you all have magic."

"Some more than others," Sans clarified. He propped Papyrus back against his shoulder. He cupped his free hand and raised it until it was level with his eye. The air took on a metallic tang. Chara's eyes widened as the bleach-white bones that made up his hand began to give off a pale blue light. Chara unconsciously gripped the hem of Asriel's sleeve.

With a flash of light the glow disappeared and the taste of metal faded. Sans was left holding a single brittle bone. "Welp, that's pretty much the extent of my magic." He tucked the bone into Papyrus' hand. "I'm pretty sure I'm the weakest monster down here." Chara couldn't tell if Sans was grimacing or grinning. His bare skull made his emotions harder to judge. "Doubt I could hurt you if I wanted to, kid."

Asriel frowned. "It's okay, Sans. My magic isn't very strong either."

"That's because you're a boss monster. It takes a lot longer for boss monsters to grow into your magic. My old man's taught me a lot about soul magic and how other nerdy stuff like that works."

Papyrus murmured in his sleep and adjusted his skull against his coat.

Sans lowered his voice to a whisper. "Thanks again for finding Papyrus."

Chara had the feeling this wasn't the first time this had happened. They couldn't help themself. "Maybe you should put a GPS on him or something," they muttered.

Sans inclined his head. "A what?" Papyrus' head fell back. Sans shifted him so that he was leaning over his shoulder and yawned. "I should be heading back. It's time for Papyrus' nap."

"Yeah," Chara grinned. "We wouldn't want you two getting bone tired."

Sans snorted. "That was pretty good." He propped Papyrus back up over his shoulder and flashed them a peace sign. "Later." Sans turned around, slippers shuffling against the dirt. He walked down the hall and out of sight.

"We should hurry back, Chara. Mom might check on us soon." Asriel turned as if to walk back.

Chara ran past him. "Well then come on, slowpoke."

"Be careful," Asriel said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Chara could hear Asriel breathing hard behind them. The sound grew louder. Even with Chara's head start, Asriel had caught up by the time that they turned back into the front yard. The two of them sprinted up the steps to the Dreemurr's house and touched the wood door, Chara pulling ahead at the last moment. Chara bent over, placing their hands on their knees and attempted to catch their breath.

Asriel frowned. "Aww, dang it. You started before me. If it was a fair race I would've-"

The adrenaline disappeared as fast as it had come and they teetered, their vision blurry. The room seemed to wobble. They braced a hand against the door and closed their eyes until the world felt steady again.

"Chara, are you okay?" Asriel hovered over their shoulder.

They realized how hurt they were. Even assuming that they were able to find the exit, they would never be able to walk all the way from the mountain back to their village.

The door opened. They turned to see a cross Toriel. "Where have you been?" She crossed her arms, frowning.

"Uh…" Asriel's ears drooped.

"I told you two to stay here," Toriel scolded. She turned her head to Asriel. "You should have known better."

Asriel lowered his head. "Sorry, mom."

"Chara is still recovering from their injuries, so I wanted you to stay here in case something happened." Toriel's voice dropped in volume and intensity. Now, instead of sounding angry she sounded worried. "Are you okay, Chara?"

Chara nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Yep."

"That is good to hear," Toriel smiled. "Perhaps you two should head inside."

Chara shrugged and stifled a yawn. They walked inside, shutting the door slowly and walked back to their room. They grabbed the game from where it lay on the the nightstand and set it onto the floor to play. This time as they played, Chara made sure to do a few 'dumb' moves to allow Asriel to take some of their pieces. It was no surprise when, a few minutes later, Asriel jumped Chara's last piece and won the game.

"Yes, I won!" Asriel pumped one of his fists into the air. "Victory is mine! Wanna play again?"

Chara shook their head. "You should teach me how to play one of the other board games." They walked over to the closet and pulled out a board game at random, setting it on the ground. "Is this one any good?" The board game was green with pictures of chibi monsters running a race.

"That one's called Monster Dash." Asriel started to set up the game, explaining how it worked as he went. "First, we all choose a monster to be our character." He held out the different monster pieces to Chara. "Here, you can choose first."

Chara looked over the pieces before grabbing one at random. It was a frog monster.

"That's a frogget." Asriel chose a cat one. "This one's a Temmie."

"That one's cute."

"Yep." Asriel nodded. "So, to play the game we roll dice and move that many spaces ahead. Some spaces have you draw a card." Asriel pointed at a red space. "Land on one of those, lose a turn."

"Okay."

"Whoever gets to the end first wins." Asriel rolled the dice and they began to play.

A few turns in, Chara rolled two fives.

"Doubles. Go again," Asriel said.

"Nice," Chara smiled and rolled again. This time they landed on a bad space. "Dang it. Move seven back," they whined. Chara moved back and handed the dice to Asriel. It was a very close game. Chara had landed on the spot next to the end, but then Asriel got a double and was able to catch up.

"Yay, I won again." Asriel did a little victory dance.

"No!" Chara mocked disbelief. "Froggy was almost victorious."

Asriel brought a hand up to his mouth, snorting. "Chara, that's a frogget, not a froggy."

Chara picked up the frogget piece. "Their name is Froggy." They started to clean up the board game.

Asriel put his piece back into the box.

Chara followed suit. "Goodbye, Froggy." They lifted the game back into the closet. "What do you want to do now?" they yawned.

Asriel looked up at them. "You look kinda sleepy, Chara."

Chara shook their head.

Asriel continued anyways. "Sometimes I get super sleepy and have to take a nap in the middle of the day."

"Meh," Chara shrugged. "I guess." They slid off the arm of the chair and walked off towards their room.

"G'night, Chara," Asriel called out.

Chara turned left and entered their bedroom. They let out a giant yawn. Maybe a nap wasn't a bad idea.

They woke up, feeling no more than an hour had passed, but the house was completely silent. There was only the dull blue glow of a nightlight, casting aqua shadows everywhere. Chara sat up and reached over to where they knew their nightstand was. Their hand found the lamp and their fingers fumbled on its sleek surface until they found the switch. The lights flicked on. Chara noticed that sitting on their nightstand were two slices of pizza.

Chara reached over and grabbed the nearest slice. They took a bite and an explosion of flavor hit their taste buds. They ate ravenously. The pizza was gone before they knew it. Chara forced themself to slow down and savor the second slice more.

Chara turned back to the nightstand and noticed that there was a note partially hidden under the plate. They grabbed it and held it under the light for inspection.

Chara,

I came in to call you to dinner, but you were sleeping so soundly I decided not to wake you.

-Toriel

"That was nice of her," Chara whispered. Then they saw something that made them chuckle. In the corner of the paper someone, presumably Asriel, had drawn a stick figure family. Three of them had horns on their head and were holding hands. At the end of the stick figure line was another, smaller one. Heh, it's me. Chara pulled the paper taunt in an attempt to get a better look at the picture. Asriel had used a brown crayon to add in hair. The family of stick figures were all smiling.

Chara shifted their gaze from the picture in their shaking hand to the still warm plate of pizza sitting on the nightstand. A thought struck them. They care about me. Chara paused for a moment to look around the dimly lit room that Toriel and Asgore were gracious enough to let them stay in. It wasn't until they looked down at the blurry picture in their hand that Chara realized they were crying.

Monsters are weird. Chara shook their head and set down the paper. Why would someone bother to do so much for a complete stranger? Chara bit their lip. Even if they were a human. They sighed and took another bite of pizza. That's when they realized something. They didn't feel scared right now. They had been wary of all of the monsters, even kind little Asriel. They had felt like this was too good to be true. Everyone seemed so nice. They had felt like they were being toyed with. Give them a few minutes of kindness before the monsters would drop their act and turn on them. Chara finished their dinner and laid down in their bed. Were monsters really as bad as everyone had made them out to be?

Chara remembered, in particular, an old lady in their village who loved to tell these stories. "Monsters are vicious creatures that attack humans left and right. They are not to be trusted. They steal and hurt." If a neighbor's dog got loose and was found dead the lady would retort. "Monsters kill without mercy."

Or the one day a kid ran through the forest, not to be seen again. Chara could just imagine the lady's response to their own disappearance. "Did you hear about the child who got lost on Mt. Ebott? The monsters led them astray. They can't be trusted."

Chara closed their eyes, thinking how nothing could be farther from the truth.

They yawned, hoping that they could get Asriel to take them around town tomorrow. They could see some other monsters. Chara wanted to know for sure if all monsters were this nice. After that, it was time to say goodbye. They rolled over to their side, trying to get comfy. They resolved to talk to Toriel and Asgore tomorrow. Toriel said that they'd be able to leave. Give them a day, two, three more and they'd feel good enough to walk back down the mountain.

Chara's eyes opened. Why were they still waiting? They could ask Toriel where the exit was today. Why didn't they? The mountain was steep and the way back would have been hard, but they could make it. Chara rose, sitting up with the full intention of knocking on their door and asking. They slipped their legs out of the bed, but their feet hovered over the ground uncertainly.

They couldn't will their feet to move forward. But they needed to go back. Right? If they really wanted to leave, why were they hesitating?

Nausea twisted their stomach. It wouldn't matter if they left or not. They could run back and tell what had really happened, cry and plead with people to believe them. But nobody would listen.

* * *

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Also, this awesome animator on Youtube uploaded a new animation a few days ago. Her username is 'V0idless'. If you haven't already watched her animations, go and watch them right now! Type in "V0idless undertale echo" and her video should pop up. See you all next week! :)


	7. Chapter 7

A noise startled Chara awake. They looked around wildly. Where were they? Chara rubbed their eyes. They were sitting in a bed in a dimly lit room. Asriel's house. Chara's breathing shuddered. They ran through their hair with a shaking hand, remnants of an already fading nightmare. They were alright. They were alive.

The noise came again. Someone was knocking on their door. They brought a hand to their chest, feeling the rapid fluttering of their heart. They didn't want anyone to see them like this. They forced themself to focus on their breathing. They took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. Chara swallowed. "Hello?"

Asriel's voice was muffled by the door. "Mom wanted me to ask if you wanted to walk around Home today."

The tension in their shoulders eased, if only slightly. "Sure." They coughed, trying to mask the waver in their voice. The dream was coming back to them in bits and pieces. They gripped the blankets in their fists, trying to distract themself. It didn't work. Demons don't run away that easily.

"Great! Asriel chimed. If he noticed the pain in their voice he didn't let on. "I'll go tell mom. We'll have so much fun!" he gushed.

Chara waited until they heard Asriel's footsteps pounding down the hallway to let their facade drop. Chara sat up, holding their head in their hands. They had climbed the mountain to run away. They had done that. Why couldn't they outrun their thoughts? How far did they have to go to hide from their demons?

Maybe they had been wrong. The real monsters weren't down here or on the surface. The real monsters were in their head.

Chara wiped their eyes with their sleeve. The fabric came back dry. They were too tired to cry.

Chara pushed away their quilt and stood up. The sheets caught their eye. The pristine white blankets that had been tucked onto the bed were now stained with mud and grime. Chara looked down at their clothes. Had they done that? They pulled at their shirt, wincing. They looked terrible. They were still wearing the same dirty shirt and faded pair of jeans that they had climbed the mountain in. They picked at a caked piece of mud on the knee of their jeans, but only managed to get dirt under their nails.

There was another knock on the door.

"Chara?" Asriel called. "You almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, coming." Chara ran their fingers through their tangled mess of hair and walked to the door. They were careful not to look at their reflection in the mirror.

Asriel grinned. "Mom's ready to take us to Home! Aren't you excited?"

Chara looked at him. His ears were flopping happily as he bounced. His energy exhausted them, but they knew that they should act enthusiastic. They were going to meet new monsters, look around town. Chara tried to think of a reply, but they didn't care about Home.

They wanted to _go_ home.

But this was the best way to find the exit, right? They needed to play along. Chara forced a smile.

"I'm ready whenever."

Asriel grinned. "Come on, then." He grabbed their hand and pulled them through the living room, swinging around the corner, and out the door.

" _Asriel_ ," they complained and pulled their hand away.

Toriel was waiting for them. "Are you two ready for an adventure?" she asked. She clasped her hands in front of her purple dress.

Asriel grinned. "Yeah! I get to lead, though." He grabbed Chara's hand again. "I get to show you around the city, Dad said. He said that I'm ' _sponsible."_

" _Re_ sponsible," Toriel corrected. "But yes, you may lead the way." She looked at Chara. "Is there anything in particular that you would like to see, child?"

Chara froze. Yesterday, they had promised themself that they would ask where the exit was. They should ask. They needed to ask. If they left now, they could be back to the town by nightfall. They looked over at Asriel. A pang of guilt cut through their chest. He looked so excited. They didn't want to see him upset. They could wait a little bit longer. "I don't really care."

Asriel took their hand and began marching down the path. Toriel followed a few feet behind them. Chara saw an amused expression cross her face.

"I have so much to show you!" Asriel exclaimed. "You're going to love it here!"

Chara nodded. They looked at their hand, wrapped in Asriel's smaller one. They thought it was strange that they didn't feel uncomfortable. Holding Asriel's hand felt nice. Safe.

At the corner, Chara looked down the path to the town. They could hear a low babble of monsters all the way from here. The other path was completely silent. There were probably a lot less monsters that way. They wondered where it led. Chara bit their lip. They weren't sure that they were ready to be surrounded by monsters. They gripped Asriel's hand tighter.

Asriel noticed their fingers pressing into his hand. "What is it, Chara?" He looked concerned. "Are you tired? We can do this tomorrow if you want."

"No," they quickly said. They forced a smile. "I was just wondering," they lied. "What's down there?" They used their free hand to point towards the quieter road.

"Oh!" Asriel's face lit up. "It's a really pretty path. I'll show you!" He tugged on the sleeve of Toriel's dress. "Mom, can we go that way?" He pointed down the path.

Toriel thought for a moment, forehead creased. "I was not planning on it, but if both of you would rather..." She turned her head inquisitively at Chara who nodded. "Okay." Toriel offered Asriel a hand to hold, but he refused.

"I'm old enough to walk by myself," he said. He let go of Chara's hand. "Come on, Chara. I'll race you again!" Asriel ran off

Chara walked after him, gaze scanning the area around them for movement. Thankfully, they didn't see any other monsters. Everybody must be in the town right now. Nervous butterflies fluttered in their stomach. They remembered Sans' immediate reaction to them. He had seemed nervous, fearful, even. People were unpredictable when they were scared. Time and time again, how did people react to fear? With violence.

Chara realized that they'd fallen behind. They jogged to catch up. Asriel had stopped running. "Hey, Asriel."

He turned.

"Will all of the other monsters be so nice?"

"Of course," Asriel said. "Why wouldn't they be?"

Chara frowned.

"Because you're a human?" Asriel guessed. He skipped down the path alongside them. "I dunno. I didn't even know you were a human until mom told me. I guess it will be the same for most monsters. Most monsters are nice, though. I mean, there are a couple that…" He scratched the back of his ear. "Some can be sorta cranky," he explained "Like that one day when I was standing on the table and knocked over Gerson's tea…" He smiled sheepishly. "Boy was I in trouble!"

Chara smiled. The smile fell away as something rustled the leaves at the end of the hall. Chara stepped backwards. The leaves crunched again as blur of gray flew out at them. It landed a foot in front of Chara.

Chara clenched her fists, eyes screwed shut. Asriel giggled.

"Come on, Chara." Chara felt something tug their sleeve. "It's not scary. It just wants to say hello."

Chara swallowed. They slowly opened their eyes. In front of them was a small creature, only the size of a cat. Its head was oblong and disproportionately big for its body. Its gray mouth was fixed into a permanent frown. It cocked its head at Chara. Chara's shoulders relaxed. It didn't look too threatening. In fact, Chara thought that they had seen it before. It looked like their game piece. Asriel had said that it was a froggy...a froggit?

Toriel nodded at the monster. "Greetings," she said. She smiled at Chara. "Come along now."

Chara gingerly stepped past the monster. It turned its head up and looked at them as they passed by. Chara tried to replicate Toriel's passive tone. They nodded at the monster. "Greetings," they said.

"Goood Daay," the froggit croaked. It leapt pass them and hopped down the path.

They entered a room with a pond and stepped onto a bridge. Chara leaned over the wooden railing and looked into the water. It was only about ankle deep. They could see their reflection. They stared into the water wide eyed.

In the reflection, they saw Asriel step behind them. He stepped onto the support of the wooden railing, propping himself over Chara's head. He stuck two fingers over their hair and giggled. Chara pushed him down.

"Hey," Asriel complained. "I wanna see." He stepped back onto the support beam. They stared silently at the surface of the water. Chara searched their face. They expected to see something different, something new, but they looked the same as they had the last time they'd looked in their bathroom mirror at home. Nothing had changed. They were still the same person, albeit dirtier. How could they look the same but feel so different?

"What are you grinning at?" Chara asked Asriel. His eyes were turned up in his reflection smiling.

"I dunno," Asriel said. "I just like the water." He grabbed Chara's arm. "See? He said, holding them tight. "It's you!"

Chara shook his hand off. "Yeah. I don't know how this leech got stuck to my arm, though."

Chara's heart leapt at his giggle. He was so genuinely happy. They smiled. Asriel looked up at them. His eyes were wide and adoring in the dim crystal light. "I'm so happy that you're here, Chara."

Chara looked back into the water. They knew that they should tell him that they were happy too. They knew that they should answer his enthusiasm. They didn't. They didn't want to lie to him. Asriel didn't deserve that.

"Let's go," Chara said. They kicked a pebble into the pond. Ripples scattered their reflection, distorting their faces. "Toriel is probably waiting for us."

Chara and Asriel walked fast to catch up. Chara stuck their fingers into their jeans' pockets so that Asriel couldn't grab their hands again. It was wrong for them to be comforted by him if they were planning on leaving so soon. They didn't want to use someone who was so trusting.

Toriel was waiting for them and the end of the room. The three of them ambled down crisscrossing paths, not coming across any more monsters. Chara wasn't sure it they were relieved or disappointed.

They passed under an elaborate archway into a dark cavern. The ceiling was completely bare of crystals. They paused, looking around at the shadows, on high alert for movement. Anything could be hiding in the dark. At the center of the cave was a small lit patch of grass. Chara walked into the glowing circle and raised their head toward the sunlight. A halo of light cut through the jagged rocks that formed the cave ceiling.

Chara lowered their head. They were standing in a bed of golden flowers. They moved carefully out of the grass. They didn't want to hurt the flowers.

Asriel plopped onto the floor, leaning back against one of the pillars that gave support to the room.

Chara narrowed their eyes. This place was familiar. They gazed up at the light again, squinting, and put an arm up over their eyes to shield them from the glare.

"Chara."

They jumped, jerking their head towards Asriel. "What?"

He patted the ground next to him. "You can sit by me."

"Okay." Chara sat down next to Asriel. They were quiet for a few seconds. "So," they murmured. "This is where I fell."

Asriel nodded. "Yep." He smiled. "This is where we met."

Chara looked at the light. They bit their lip thoughtfully. "There's something I still don't understand. How did I survive that?" They pointed up. "Magic or no magic, there's no way."

"Actually, magic can be used in a variety of ways." Toriel smiled, her tone like someone who liked teaching. "I happen to be skilled in healing magic. Most monsters use their healing magic as they need it, but one is also able to set up a protection spell in advance."

Asriel looked at his mom. "I didn't know that."

Toriel chuckled, "I have surely brought that up before, my child." She patted the top of his head.

" _Mom_..." Asriel groaned and pushed her hand away.

"Monsters use this as a way to protect themselves and their families. They are able to infuse their healing magic into objects and clothing as a way to guard against injuries. Of course, magic like that fades quickly, so they have to recast it every few days"

"What does that have to do with this?" Chara spoke up.

Toriel smiled, "I was getting to that. When we first came down here and founded Home, we noticed how, every now and then, something would fall from up there."

Chara tilted their head slightly to the side, giving Toriel a blank look.

"Small critters and bugs. Some of the monsters wanted to do something to help them. We use our magic as a net of sorts. It is able to slow down and stop them from getting hurt while landing."

"That's really...nice." Chara rose and walked to the center, hopping over the various patches of buttercups.

"We have only seen small animals fall here, so we use weaker magic that's able to keep them safe," Toriel said.

"Then I came along."

Toriel bowed her head remorsefully. "The healing magic that was there wasn't enough to save you from falling. The best it was able to do was make the landing a little softer."

Chara looked up at the bright circle of light breaking through the cave ceiling. "The cave leading up to the hole has a big entrance so you might need to make your magic stronger."

Toriel nodded. "I will be sure to ask Dr. Gaster about that."

Gaster. One of the monsters that they had met yesterday. Chara took another deep breath.

Toriel was looking at them expectantly. They realized that she had asked them a question.

Chara blinked. "Sorry?"

"Chara, how much time would you say we would have to prepare before someone else ends up falling down?"

"Hm," Chara thought. "I don't know how often larger animals would come up there, it's a long climb. It's up a mountain." They looked over at Asriel and Toriel. "You probably don't have to worry about any other humans falling down here, though. People think that this place is cursed. Lots of people used to climb the mountain, but they never came back. No one want to be anywhere near here."

Asriel tilted his head. "Then why were you there, Chara?"

There was no malice in his tone, only honest curiosity, but for Chara it felt like a stab to the chest. They looked down.

"Chara?" Asriel's voice was softer.

"I..." Chara looked down, kicking a random flower in the flower patch with none of the previous care they had taken. Their foot hit the stalk of the flower, severing it from the ground. They stopped and bent down, patting the ground as if to repair the damage they had caused.

Chara picked up the broken buttercup. "Flower, I'm sorry-" Their voice caught in their throat. They raised up a shoulder, feigning a cough into their sleeve. They couldn't stop a hiccupping sob from escaping their throat.

"The flowers here grow like weeds, young one," Toriel said as stepped closer. "Do not fret."

Asriel leaped forward and gave them a hug. Chara pulled away and stepped away from him, but Asriel continued forward. "Chara, are you alr-"

"Asriel." Toriel placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked over at Toriel. "Yeah?"

Toriel's voice was strained. "We should go home."

Asriel looked from Toriel to Chara and back again. "Okay."

Toriel offered out a hand, which Asriel took and turned away. Chara stood for a moment of indecision, then nodded mutely and started to follow them.

Chara kept their gaze straight in front of them, not wanting to think about what had happened. They curled a hand into a fist. They hadn't been ready for that. Chara watched Asriel to distract them. He skipped through the hallways, his good mood only briefly impacted. Chara compared his steps to Toriel's. He hopped along with loud, clumsy steps compared to Toriel's slow and regal ones. Each time he starting pulling too far away, he would turn around and wait for them to catch up before continuing down the path.

At the house they found Asgore outside by the newly planted tree, watering can in hand. He had changed out of his usual clothes. Instead of wearing his elaborate cloak, he had on a faded old t-shirt and pants.

"Dad!" Asriel called and ran over. Asgore scooped him into a hug.

"Howdy. How is everyone doing this fine morning?" He stood up from the garden, wiping his hands onto his shirt.

Asriel crossed his arms. "Dad, it's past lunchtime. It's not morning anymore."

Asgore chuckled. "Of course, Asriel." He hugged him again, lifting him into his arms. Asriel giggled.

They all seemed so happy and carefree. Chara stood, mouth turned down. Their own family had been like this once, so long ago that those memories had a fuzzy, surreal feel to them. As if those memories belonged to someone else. They had been so happy and naive back then. So much had happened. They could still recall their brother's face and felt the inundating regret that came with it. Bile bubbled in the back of their throat. Chara swallowed. "Toriel?"

She turned. "Yes?"

Chara could see Asgore's and Asriel's gazes shift to them. They looked at their feet. "Can I go take a nap?"

Toriel nodded. "Of course, Chara."

They stepped back into the house, letting out a soft sigh once the door was shut. They made their way back to their room. Chara's head bent toward the floor, taking their mind off other things by examining the darker lines that ran through the floorboard.

Their house had wood floors, too.

A pang of homesickness lanced through them. They wished again that they could go back. Fix their mistakes. They breathed in as much air as they could manage, watching their chest rise. They held the air for a second and then forced themself to release it slowly. It helped them calm their mind. They had resolved to leave today. They needed to know what had happened.

Even if their village likely wouldn't listen to a word they said. Chara sighed. They had no clue what they would return home to, but they needed to try. They had nowhere else to go. They wiped their nose on their sleeve. No, that wasn't entirely true.

There was still one person who might believe them.

The thought made them hopeful. They decided that they were going to leave. The weight of this decision exhausted them and they flopped on their bed. They could hear the monsters talking. Their stomach gave an ache of hunger. It was about lunch time. Chara stood up, hoping that they could get something to eat before they set out.

They walked close to the door. Through the indistinguishable voices, they heard their name. Their hand hovered uncertainly over the doorknob. The monsters were talking about them. They slowly propped the door open a crack and listened in.

"But why, mom? Chara was so sad."

Toriel's voice was gentle, but firm. "We do not know what kind of life Chara has left behind. It clearly hurts them when it gets brought up. Perhaps Chara misses their own family that's up there?"

"They can leave though, right?" Asriel's voice raised a pitch. He sounded worried.

"The barrier keeps monsters from passing through. Since it let Chara through, they should be able to cross back." Asgore said.

The barrier? Chara was confused.

"But how would they get out? They can't fly and it's so high up," Asriel grumbled.

Toriel chuckled, "They would not be climbing up that way, my child. They would leave by going down the stairs here and through the rest of the underground. It's quite the walk, but eventually they would reach the barrier."

Chara's eyes widened. The way out. What they had been searching for the entire time was in the house, one flight of stairs away.

They heard no farther chatter. They stepped out of their room, closing their bedroom loudly behind them, and walked to the dining room.

Asriel turned with the noise and saw them. His eyes lit up. "Howdy, Chara. How you doing?"

Asgore was in the middle of washing a plate. "We did not think that you would be joining us for lunch."

Chara shrugged their shoulders. "I just woke up."

"Would you like a sandwich?" Toriel asked. "It will only take a minute."

Chara nodded their head. They bit their lip, feeling uneasy. "How do I leave?" They asked. The atmosphere in the room thickened. Everyone was still, a dish clattered as it was placed back into the sink. They would have thought that sound had ended completely if not for the sound of water sloshing back and forth in the sink.

"Leave?" Toriel asked.

Chara nodded. It was time to figure out if the monsters were really good. If they were nice, wouldn't they help them out? If they didn't tell them how to get out, then they knew that they should be worried.

Toriel smiled warmly at them and smoothed her dress, but something in her behavior felt odd to Chara. Toriel looked the tiniest bit nervous. "Are you sure that you are ready for that?" Toriel said with care, concern on her face.

Chara hesitated before giving her a slight nod.

Toriel's eyebrows furrowed and looked over at Asgore. Chara tried to decipher the wordless message. "The way back is long and dangerous. I am not sure that is the best idea right now." Toriel brought her attention back to the sandwich.

"So, no?" Chara asked, backing up a step. They stood ridged, ready for the monster to pounce, scolding themself for trusting them too quickly.

Toriel cut apart the bread into slices. "I never said that. We would just have to wait a day or two until you had more time to heal and we have had the time to gather supplies for a full day's journey." Toriel turned back and set a PB&J sandwich at the table. "Here you are."

They forced themself to sit down, eyeing her suspiciously. The monsters were never going to let them go. Their original ideas were a lot more probable now. The monsters just needed a few more days. By then it will be too late. Do monsters have holidays? Important dates? Maybe they were waiting for someone? Because Chara knew that they weren't planning on letting them go.

"We will leave in another two or three days, if that's okay with you, as it's very short notice for the town. Asgore and I have been around town, making sure that everything will be under control here until we get back." Toriel looked back at them.

"Oh," Chara picked the corner of their sandwich off listlessly, squashing the small piece of bread flat between their fingers.

Chara realized what they had to do. They had to get out of here before it was too late. There was part of them that wanted to trust them. The longer they stayed, the harder it would be to leave.

Toriel wiped the counter free of crumbs. "Do not worry. We will get you home." Toriel said, giving their shoulder a pat.

Chara tried their best not to flinch. "Okay."

If they weren't going to help them, fine. They would have to do it on their own.

They hung out with Asriel that afternoon and evening until it was time to go to sleep. They sat on their bed and waited for the monsters to fall asleep. Once it had been quiet for some time, they exited their room, stepping over the creaky plank and to the staircase.

It was cold here. They looked down at their arm. Goosebumps were already starting to appear. They grabbed the handrail and took their first step down the staircase. With every step it grew colder until they had gotten to the bottom. They were now in a long, dimly lit hallway that went straight for as far as they could tell before plunging into darkness. They listened, trying to see what was beyond that, but it was silent. They stepped into the dark unknown, bunching their shoulders against the cold, keeping their hands splayed out in front of them to keep them from bumping into anything.

They eyes had only begun to adjust be the time they neared the end of the hallway. There was a right-angle turn, impossible to look around. They slowed down, approaching it cautiously. Something had to be guarding the exit. A monster patrol, a guard, something. They pressed themself to the side of the hall and crept the last few feet. They waited a moment before peeking their head around the corner. Another empty hallway. Chara breathed a relieved sigh, their breath faltering half way as they noticed the shape at the end of the hall.

There was a door, unguarded and inviting.

They walked up to the large doors. It's immense height and length commanded respect. They put a hand on the aged wooden door. Though regal in sheer height, it became obvious that it had seen better days. The door was covered with scratches and cuts. The dull purple paint splintered off in flakes at their touch.

There was a symbol on the door. They would not have paid it any mind other then it struck them as familiar. This paint was a dark purple, newer than the surrounding and had not yet started to chip. In the center was a circle, silhouettes of wings painted on either side. The same symbol was on Toriel's and Asgore's clothes.

Chara grabbed the handle and pulled, but the heavy door stood firm. They felt a rush of fear. The monsters could find them at any time. They narrowed their eyes and tried again, determined not to let it be a door that stopped them. Not when they'd made it so far. They grasped the knob in both hands and pulled, feeling a section of the warped metal dig into their palms. They gritted their teeth and pulled harder. The door's hinges, frozen together with time and rust, let out a high pitched squeal as they grated open; back in motion after so long. They squeezed themself through the narrow crack.

A long stairway stretched into shadows. They tilted their head back. They couldn't see where the staircase ended. Maybe it didn't end. Maybe it stretched on forever. Maybe it was consumed by the darkness, falling into oblivion.

Chara clenched their fists. Too late to turn back now. They started up the staircase.

Chara shivered. The stumbled blindly up the steps. They couldn't see more than a step ahead of them at a time. Their foot hit a pebble. It bounced down the staircase, ringing as it hit each step. The sound faded away. Chara tried not to think about how far it was falling. The staircase seemed solid enough, but the corners were crumbling. What if one of the steps had fallen away with age? Would they see it? Or would they fall?

Chara tripped up the last step. Their hands met polished stone, not the rough concrete of the steps. They stood up. They were standing at the edge of a small antechamber. An ornate purple archway loomed over their head. Chara hesitated. Could this already be the end? This seemed too easy.

Chara hesitantly stepped through the archway. Their shoes crunched against a patch of shriveled up grass. As they moved through the shadows a door came into view. It was a deep purple, foreboding. The stepped closer to it and placed their hand on the cool iron ring mounted to the stone. The door handle looked ancient. What was behind this door?

 _The door_. They hadn't closed the door to the staircase. They looked over their shoulder. Fear flooded over them. If they left the door open, the monsters would know where they went. They bit their cheek. They couldn't go back now. They didn't want to risk walking down that staircase again. Besides, the door stood on the brink of falling over. If it fell, the monsters would definitely hear it.

They would have to leave quickly, then. They pushed the heavy door open and sprinted through the crack. Cold shocked their body. They stopped, arms outstretched to balance them. They were ankle deep in a fluffy white substance.

Their mouth hung open, bewilderment on their lips. For a few moments, they just stared, hardly believing their eyes. Their voice came out a whisper.

"Snow?"

* * *

Thank you all for reading! This week make sure to check out Ask Frisk and Company (AFAC). It's a really nice comic on Tumblr that is still active.

As a student, it's been getting hard with homework and after school activities to update at 8:00pm on Friday nights, so I'm going to push next update to 8:00pm Sunday (the 23rd). Updates will still be every week, but on Sundays instead of Fridays. See you all later!


	8. Chapter 8

Snow?

Tall trees surrounded them on both sides, casting shadows across the ground. Snow was everywhere, fresh and undisturbed.

But it was autumn. It couldn't have snowed yet. They looked up and their heart sunk. They were still underground. How did a forest, and _snow_ , end up down there? Blue crystals hung in large clumps over them. The light reflected around the cave, giving everything a blue glow. The scenery was motionless. There was no wind to rock the trees' branches. No animals to stir up leaves.

They shouldn't gawk too long; they had to get going. They looked around the trees. There wasn't any trail through the trees to follow. Straight ahead was the most reasonable. They took a step forward, sinking halfway to their knee in snow. It clung to their jeans and shoes. Chara folded their arms to their chest, freezing under their thin shirt. They breathed out, a puff of white escaping from their mouth.

The snow crunched underfoot. Chara turned back, seeing the obvious trail of footprints against the otherwise untouched snow. They peered into the shadows of the forest. Maybe the monsters were already there in the shadows, watching them?

Chara brushed past a tree and their arm was roughly pulled back. Their heart skipped a beat and they turned, expecting monsters. Their sleeve had gotten caught on an old bare branch. They wrestled the fabric free, causing the weakened branch to snap. In the silence of the forest, the sound was as loud as thunder.

Chara didn't dare to breathe. They waited for something to pop out of the darkness and get them, but it appeared that they were still alone. They sighed, pausing for long enough to take one shoe off and shake it. The snow fell to the ground. They put the shoe back on and tried the other one, hoping for warmth to come back into their feet. It didn't help. The snow had already turned into water and had seeped into their shoes. They picked up the pace, trying to get out of this cold place as soon as possible.

This forest felt odd. They cast a glance to the side, reflexively on the watch for squirrels. But nothing was there. No birds were in these trees, singing soft lullabies overhead. No critters hopped in lazy circles in the brush. It was silent, apart from Chara and their clumsy walk. Chara felt a knot tighten in their stomach. The forest was watching them, waiting for them to go away. They shouldn't be here.

Chara came to a section of the forest thick with trees. They stooped over, bending a few branches out of the way so that they could pass. It was then that they heard a distant gurgle. The sound of running water.

A stream. They turned their head toward the noise. If you're lost follow a stream, right? Water had to lead somewhere.

The sound got louder until they got to the edge of the hill, looking over valleys of frozen trees. Far below them, they could see a river. Though frozen at the sides, the water in the center still moved. They took a tentative step to the edge of the hill. The way down was steep. They let out a deep breath. One wrong move and... Chara shook their head. It wouldn't come to that.

They stepped off of the first rock, landing on another rock a few feet down. Their footing wasn't firm and they let out a startled gasp, sliding a few centimeters before their shoes found purchase on the slick snow. Their knees trembled, a combination of nerves and the cold. They were okay.

The next few rocks were closer together and they were able to pass through unscathed. They had reached the last one. The last drop. This rock already looked smooth, not taking account of the glistening sheet of blue the reflected off of its smooth surface. That rock might be icy and was almost for sure slippery. They grabbed onto the side of the rock, their fingers firmly digging into the cold stone, before lowering themself to the next one. They had been right. Their feet slipped. They grabbed the rock firmer, feeling a biting coldness attack their fingers. After a few seconds of floundering, their shoe hit a divot in the rock and held firm. They were down.

They let out a heavy sigh. Everything was going to be okay now.

They were below the tree line, unable to see where the river was. The thick trees made it even harder. Chara could recall the general direction, though. Their fingers burned, stiff from the cold. They cupped their hand around their mouth and exhaled, filling the space between their fingers with warm air.

They walked, greeted only by snow, trees, and more snow. No river. They crossed their arms in front of their chest and hugged themself. It was getting colder. A light layer of snow had started falling, filling the air with a white haze, making it harder to navigate. They frowned and brushed the snow out of their hair. They should have gotten to the river by now.

The wind was starting to pick up. Over the hiss of the wind they lost the sound of the river. They kept walking, the snow whipping past them growing thicker until the forest and trees had disappeared under a field of white. They were shaking visibly now. Their thin clothes weren't meant for the cold. At least the pain in their hands and feet had abated to small occasional pinpricks of pain. It was only because they had gone numb, but at this moment Chara didn't care.

They looked around at the unfamiliar place and felt the nervous knot in their stomach tighten. How big was the forest? What if they were walking in circles? Their lip trembled, not all from the cold. They looked back at where they had come. Or was that were they were going? The snow covered up everything. They paused, rubbing their hands together until their fingers grew nimble enough to uncurl. They should head back, they were going to freeze out here.

Something strong and unrelenting pressed them forward, though their feet felt heavy enough to be wearing lead boots. Something in them was determined to get back.

The wind howled through the trees, the snow cutting into them. They pulled an arm to block it from their eyes. "Hello?" Chara called out. They wheeled wildly around and around, their sense of direction diminishing with every breath.

 _I'm lost._

They tried a random way and ran, sloshing through a patch of half melted snow and splashing their legs with freezing water. They ran on, tripping over a fallen log, and landed on their hands and knees. They heard a thud off to the side, though perhaps it was just the wind. "Is anyone there?" they called out.

The wind answered with it's lonely haunting roar.

But there was another sound. Through the wind was the distant bark of a dog. Chara's eyes went wide. "Lucy?" they breathed and pinpointed the direction, running toward it. "Over here!" As the barking got nearer, Chara could hear a difference. It wasn't their dog. These barks were too low pitched. Chara frowned. The barks grew closer. They grabbed a small stick from the ground and turned to face whatever it was.

A dog broke through the wall of snow. She stopped next to them, tongue lolled out from her mouth, her fluffy tail wagging furiously. Her whole body was covered with a thick, gray coat of fur. She barked something at them and shot them a glare.

"What do you think you're doing?" The dog growled.

Chara took a small step back, not expecting hostility. The stick slipped from their frozen fingers and fell to the ground. Their legs shook, the water freezing them even faster.

The dog sniffed at their legs. Her voice grew sympathetic. "Come on. You're cold." She placed her nose onto their shoe. The area around it warmed, the snow and icy seeping off of it. Chara wiggled their toes, winching at the sharp pain that came with them being numb for so long. The dog repeated this with their other foot.

They looked down at their hands. They noticed that the tips on their fingers had paled to a ghost-like white. And it stung. Chara rubbed them together furiously, biting their lip against the pain.

"And your hands," the dog ordered.

Chara stood up straighter, hand pressed to their chest, out of reach. They eyed her warily.

"You don't want to get frostbite now, do you?" The dog grumbled. Chara hesitated, but lowered their hands. Warmth spread throughout their hands at the dog's touch. After a few seconds, they pulled their hand away.

"You probably won't want me to touch your head." The dog grumbled, turning. "That's okay, just rub your nose and ears or something. Warm them up. Go." The dog started back the way it had come. "Let's head back. It's been a long night for me." When Chara didn't immediately follow, the dog gave an annoyed sigh. "It's one in the morning. Come on. I have some place I really need to be right now." The dog expertly weaved in between trees, leaving Chara stumbling and wrestling with the thicket of brush and branches.

"Where are we going?" they shouted, the dog having gotten far in front of them by now.

The dog allowed them to catch up. "Home, of course. The king and queen have been extremely worried at your foolishness."

"Who?"

The dog snorted with laughter, shaking her snout. "We're getting close. I imagine you were going in circles for a lot of this. You didn't get very far. Easier to get back then, at least."

They made it back to the stone door which led back into Home. "Finally." The dog entered the archway, shaking the snow off of her fur coat.

Chara walked down the stairs, worried. What would the monsters think about them running? They slowed. Would they be angry? Something in them doubted it, considering how they had reacted so far. Chara hoped that they were right. They walked down the hall and up the stairs back to the house. The dog monster ran pass them and out the door to Home.

On the main floor, they were swamped by monsters. "Chara!" Asriel barreled into them and gave them a hug that Chara was too tired and cold to mind.

"Chara, whatever has gotten into you? Why did you leave?" Toriel crossed her arms. "It is dangerous out there. You did not even know where to go."

Chara shrugged.

Toriel stepped over to them and brought a hand to their shoulder. "You are freezing!" she exclaimed and walked off to the kitchen. "Here, I've made some tea." Toriel came back with a cup. "It should warm you right up." She scooted out a chair and beckoned to them. "Here, sit at the table."

Chara did. They held the warm cup in their hands, feeling warmth drain back into their fingers. They took a little sip. It was too hot, so they just held it, looking up at the family.

Asriel skipped over to them. "What were you doing, Chara?" he asked and slid into the chair next to them. "I'm sorta confused." he admitted.

Toriel offered him his own cup of tea, which he gladly accepted.

"Thanks mom." He gulped it, almost spitting it out onto the table. "Hot." He stuck his tongue out and shook his head.

Chara smirked and took another sip.

"Hey, Chara. I can grab another game or something, if you want to," Asriel said.

Chara shook their head. A light dizziness had started and they wanted to sit down for now. Guilt made their stomach churn. Even after all of that why…

Why were they being so nice?

"Okay, then." Asriel yawned, his eyes drooped shut and he rested his head on the table. Chara remembered how late it must have been and felt worse.

Asgore appeared from the kitchen. "Are you doing okay, Chara?" He walked forward, placing a hand on their shoulder.

Chara looked around the room, anywhere except for the monster's faces. They didn't want to see their concerned looks. They wondered what was happening on the surface right now. They wondered if, maybe, people were happy now. Now that they were gone.

Toriel returned, arms piled with blankets. "These will help you warm up. Please, don't worry us again like that." She sandwiched blankets between them and the chair back, setting another blanket around their shoulders.

Chara looked up at her. Toriel's face was full of worry, with a hint of a question:

Why?

They blinked hard, looking away from her kind face. They felt an ache of loneliness. They really missed their friends.

"Is there anything else that I can get for you?" Toriel asked.

Their home. Their friends. How could they have been so stupid? The chair was large and Chara curled up in it. Their head drooped. They shuffled the blankets around so that their face would be concealed. Chara hated to let people see them cry. They sniffled and cupped their face in their hands.

"Chara?" Asriel poked their shoulder.

Chara took a deep breath. "I could leave. I could go through the barrier and go-"

"Chara, you aren't well." They could hear the worry creeping back into Toriel's tone. "The way there is too rough. It would be irresponsible to allow you to leave like this. You are practically frozen. You do not-"

"I need to." Chara's shoulders heaved and they fought back a cry. "I want to go back. To the surface."

 _I want to go home._

"Oh, poor child," Toriel shushed them.

Immediately, they felt warm arms surround them and lift them up, hugging them close. They didn't refuse. They were past the point of caring.

"I am so sorry." Toriel was walking down the hall.

They buried their head farther into her fur.

"I had no clue how much you wanted to leave." Her voice was gentle, leaking with sadness. A door was opened and they were brought down onto their bed. "Our original plan was to wait. To get you fully healed before attempting to walk to the barrier."

Chara scooted out of her grasp and wiggled onto the mattress.

"But that, as I see now, will not work." Toriel stayed sitting next to them. She turned their head and gave them a small smile. "It's late. How about you go and try to get some sleep? We have a long way to go tomorrow."

Chara looked up. "Tomorrow?"

"We are going to the barrier." She gave the top of their head a pat. Toriel stood up, brushing the creases out of her dress. "You do not need to run away. We are here for you. We will be walking there together." She paused, looking over them for a moment before stepping back. "I promise you that."

Chara wiped the streak of tears from their face. "Promise?"

Toriel nodded, her mouth turned up in a reassuring smile. "I promise."

* * *

"Good morning, friends," the tall, hawk nosed teacher said cheerfully, waving at each student as they entered.

Chara looked around the room. His feet tapped excitedly at the ground. He couldn't wait to get started. It was his first day of kindergarten. He looked around the room, unsure on what to do. Some other kids had walked over to a table and were coloring. Chara decided to join them. He walked over, his steps little anxious hops.

He hoped that the other kids liked him. His mom had said that he should try to make some friends.

He didn't know how to do that, but he tried. He walked up to the kid closest to him and smiled tentatively. "Hello." He had only breathed it, too nervous to talk louder than a whisper.

The kid turned and talked to someone else. Chara frowned. He had not heard him.

"My name is Mrs. Smith." The teacher smiled at the kids. "Let's all sit on the rug. It's time for school," She said, sitting down onto a rug.

The rug was a faded blue oval, bordered with the letters a to z. It looked like something that had once been vibrant, but had been dulled by age and dirt.

The teacher beckoned at a few stragglers to come over. "If everybody could please find a letter on the rug to sit on, that would be wonderful."

There was a frenzy of students sitting, each one trying to get their favorite letter before someone else took it. Chara stood behind them, hesitant as the class swarmed the rug. His excitement was fading to uncertainty. The room suddenly seemed too small for the handful of children in their class. Chara scuffed his shoe against the cracked tile floor as the teacher herded the students to a place on the rug. Chara didn't know where to sit.

A boy across from them waved. "You can sit here," he offered, scooting over. Chara waved back, hopping over a kid who had decided to lay on the floor instead of sit, and sat down next to him.

"Hi. My name is Chara."

"My name's Niko." The boy flicked a mess of blond hair out of his face. "You wanna be friends?"

Chara grinned. "Sure."

* * *

Ha, remember how easy friendships were to make in elementary school? xD  
Thank you all for continuing to read this story! I will update again next Sunday at 8:00pm. Feel free to leave a comment if there is something that you think I can do better. I want to improve my writing skills, so I'm always happy to receive suggestions.

On another note: Totally check out WalkingMelonsAAA on Youtube! She has some of the best Undertale fanart out there, as well as an awesome Mettaton fight animation.

See you all later and have an awesome week! :)


	9. Chapter 9

The school bell rang. The kids had formed a quiet line from their room to the outside doors, but as soon as Mrs. Smith opened the door the students were gone, everyone sprinting the short distance from the door to the playground. Chara lagged behind. He wasn't in a rush to go play alone. He stepped onto the wood chips.

"Hey, Chara!" Niko ran up to them. "Wanna play?"

"Sure." He beamed. "What do you want to do?"

Niko pointed at the other side of the playground. "Monkey bars?"

Chara walked across the playground, a happy skip in his stride. He wasn't all alone. Niko had wanted to play with him. Niko climbed onto the steps, grabbed the first bar, and swung across.

"Look. I can _skip_ bars," Chara boasted and followed him across.

Niko narrowed his eyes. "Well I can do something even cooler!" He grabbed the first bar and pulled himself up, hoisting himself on top of the monkey bars. Perched high above the ground, He sat, his feet dangling over the edge. "Beat that!"

Chara kicked his legs onto the bar and swung himself upside down. "I don't even need my hands." He let his hands fall and pushed his hair out of his eyes, looking at Niko with a grin.

"Heh, I don't know anything else. We should go down the slide."

Chara looked down. The ground seemed much farther away now. He twisted around. "Niko! How do I get down?"

* * *

They twisted the garish, lime-green fabric around their fingers. Asriel had given them a heavier jacket for them to wear today. He said they could keep it.

They held it out at arm's length. It wasn't the best color combo. Yellow and green would get soiled quickly. But it was nicer than the other clothes they had, soft too. Chara curled their fingers around the sleeve.

Clattering came from the kitchen. Toriel and Asgore were getting ready. Soon they would all be leaving. They tied their new jacket around their waist. Their feet tapped anxiously against the ground. There was still a part of them that didn't believe the monsters would let them leave. That still believed this was all a ruse. A knock on the door made them jump.

"Howdy, Chara," Asriel opened the door. His voice lacked its usual vitality. He didn't meet their eyes. "Mom wants to know if you're ready to go."

"Yeah." They felt their stomach knot. They closed their eyes, trying to calm themself. It _wasn't_ a ruse. They would be taken to the exit today. They would be able to leave. They struggled to push their fear and doubt away. The monsters were being nice. They had to trust them. They stepped into the hall.

Asriel held up a knapsack. "Here you go. Mom has your food in here. "

Chara took the bag gingerly. Asriel watched them.

"Go on," he said. "Mom has clothes in there for you, too. So you don't get cold in Snowdin."

Chara unzipped the bag. An apple and a piece of pie were wrapped in plastic wrap next to a folded scarf. Chara pulled out the carefully knit fabric. Their name was stitched into the cloth.

Tears blurred Chara's eyes. They felt their resolve to leave falter. They had food, clothes, shelter, and love there if only they would stay. They imagined living there with Asriel. Spending their days playing board games, making blanket forts, running through the town. Planting flowers in the spring with Asgore, and watching the newly planted tree grow tall and strong. Curling up next to Toriel on cold nights, and waking up to the smell of sugar and cinnamon. They didn't _want_ to leave. Did they?

Most importantly, if they stayed here they could start over. Chara's eyebrows furrowed. Could a wish come true for someone as cursed as them?

They wouldn't have to face the people in their town. They didn't know what it was like back there. What if people were still on the hunt for them? If they came to town, would they not be seen as a criminal, returning to the scene of the crime? Even if they told their side of the story, - told the truth - people would not believe them. They would be tried and punished. They hadn't done anything wrong. Maybe they didn't need to go back?

No. They couldn't. They had made mistakes, they _had_ done wrong. They couldn't run from the consequences forever. They didn't deserve the Dreemurrs' kindness. They pulled a pair of gloves out of the bag and put on a wool hat. They had to leave. They owed it to _her_.

Chara zipped the backpack and and swung it over their shoulders. "Thank you," Chara said, trying to mask the waver in their voice. Asriel grunted in response.

Chara watched him awkwardly. "So," they scuffed their shoe against the wooden floor. "Do you know when we're leaving?"

Asriel shrugged. "Dunno." His ears perked up. "Hey, Mom made us breakfast." Asriel grabbed their hand and pulled them to the kitchen. He picked up two bowls that were on the counter and offered one to Chara. "Oatmeal?"

They took it. "Thanks." The bowl still felt warm. It must have just been made. The surface of the oatmeal was covered by a sprinkling of cinnamon. They ate slowly, savoring the taste. It might be the last time that they ate cinnamon.

Who knew. It might be the last time they ate anything.

There was a knock from the front door. Chara wheeled their head around. Who was that? Asgore and Toriel would have walked in without knocking. Chara looked at Asriel with a questioning expression. He didn't notice. He was staring sullenly into his oatmeal, stabbing the chunks with his spoon.

Asgore padded down the hallway and opened the door. "Howdy there, Dr. Gaster. Right on time."

Chara felt a foreboding shiver run through them. They remembered that name. The skeleton monster that they had met in town. Why was he there?

Dr. Gaster stepped into the home, hands clasped behind his back. Asgore shut the door behind him. "I am honored to have been invited, your majesty."

 _Majesty_? Chara's spoon slipped from their fingers and clattered onto the tile floor. They had been staying with the _leaders_ of the monsters? Chara's mind whirled back to the comment that the dog had made the night before. _The king and queen have been extremely worried at your foolishness._ The king and the queen were Asgore and Toriel. That meant that Asriel was a… Chara's eyes went wide. They had hurt not just some random kid monster, but a _prince._

"Chara, you okay?" Asriel asked, tilting his head.

Chara forced a smile. "Never better."

"Chara, this is Dr. Gaster," Asgore introduced. Dr Gaster nodded. "Yes," he said. "We have met." He gave Chara a gentle smile. "A pleasure to see you again, child."

"Wonderful." Asgore didn't question how they had met. "He will be accompanying us today to help us pass through a difficult part of the underground." Asgore picked their spoon off of the ground and headed to the sink to wash it. He handed it back to Chara. Chara accepted it meekly.

Not very...kingly of him.

Toriel stepped down the hall. "I have finished packing. Is everyone ready to go?" She was wearing a large backpack around her shoulders.

Not very queenly of her.

Asgore dried his hands. "Yes. I believe it is time to be going."

"But, dad." Asriel whined, leaning back against the counter. "We can't go yet."

"Asriel, I thought that you would be excited," Toriel said. "Why should we not go now?"

"Because..." Asriel looked around the room. "I lost my hat. My ears are going to be all cold." He crossed his arms, his cheeks puffing out.

"My child, what has gotten into you?" Toriel placed the back of her hand on his forehead. "You're not feverish." She shook her head. "Either way, I have a spare hat in my room." She walked down the hall.

Chara looked at Asriel out of the corner of their eye. They hadn't noticed before how puffy his eyes looked. They looked at him quizzically. He stared at the floor, lip jutted out.

Toriel returned and slid a hat over Asriel's ears.

" _Mom_!" Asriel yanked the hat off of his head. "I don't like it," he whined. "It's too itchy."

Toriel pulled it back onto his head. "You have never had a problem with it before, child. Leave it on your head. You will get frost bite otherwise."

Asriel crossed his arms. He stared at his new red boots, scuffing them on the floor..

"If that is solved, then let us be off." Asgore walked down the steps. At the bottom of the staircase, he brought his hands together. A small flame appeared and lit the way for them. Asgore easily slid the door open, though its hinges squealed in protest.

Chara felt a lot warmer this time. They were glad for the jacket. The hat that they had borrowed slid in front of their eyes and they pushed it back up. They came to the forest. Chara smiled and bent down, scooping up some snow. "Asriel, look, snow." They looked back, expecting him to be happier now. Snow was nice.

Asriel's twisted his face into a frown. He kicked at the snow, sending a chunk flying into a tree.

What had gotten into him?

"Come, children. We must keep going if we want to get to the barrier before the surface grows dark," Toriel said, grabbing Asriel's hand. "Our plan is to be at the end of Waterland by noontime so that we can stop there and eat lunch."

"Waterland?" Chara echoed.

Toriel offered her hand to Chara. Chara took it carefully. "The trip to the barrier is in three main parts. First, we have Snowland, second we have Waterland, and finally we have Hotland.

The snow had started to melt slush in their free hand. Chara shook it off, wiping their hand on their jacket. "Is that far?"

Toriel shook her head. "It is not very far. Dr. Gaster is here to help us skip over the majority of Hotland."

"Skip?" Chara asked.

"He has magic that allows him to teleport." Toriel said.

Chara suddenly felt anxious to be leaving. If he could teleport them to the barrier, they would be back to their village by late afternoon, for better or worse. "Why can't he teleport us straight there then?" they asked.

"I am only able to teleport short distances with other monsters." Gaster spoke.

"Oh." Chara looked down. They hadn't thought he was listening.

" _Mom_." Asriel shook his foot. "I got snow in my boot and now my toes are all wet." He rested his head on Toriel's side. "Can we go home and get new shoes?"

"Asriel, please." Toriel wrapped her arm around him. "I thought that you would be excited. You have only seen Snowland and a small part of Waterland before. Today we are going all the way to the barrier."

Asriel kept his head pointed at the ground, not saying anything.

"What's the barrier, anyways?" Chara asked.

"The barrier..." Toriel paused, shaking her head slightly. "It is the thing that keeps up trapped down here. You see, after the human-monster war, the humans sealed us down here with a powerful spell. Anything can enter, but only those with a powerful soul can leave."

Chara glanced away. "I'm sorry."

Toriel squeezed their hand. "You have no need to feel sorry. It is not something you did."

There was no real path to follow, just gaps in the trees that they had to navigate through. In some places, the trees grew too close together so they had to backtrack and find a new way.

They came to a ledge, so deep that the crystal lighting didn't reach all of the way down. The bottom was shrouded in darkness. There was a whoosh sound and Gaster appeared on the other side of the gap with Asgore. Chara jumped. "What?"

"Dr. Gaster is going to teleport us all across," Toriel said. Chara took a step back, shifting more behind Asriel.

Gaster reappeared back on their side of the gap. He held out a hand to Asriel. He took it and they were teleported to the other side. Finally, it was their turn. They gulped, taking his hand.

In a flash, they were on the other side. A bright light blurred their vision and they stumbled forward a step before finding their balance. They shut their eyes until the dizziness passed.

"Mom, my head hurts." Asriel covered his eyes with his hands. "Maybe we should stay here for a little while."

"Asriel." Toriel's tone grew sharp.

He looked up. "But, _mom_." Toriel shot him a look and Asriel stomped forward.

Chara slowed down, picking up some snow. They rolled it into a ball, a smile already threatening to appear on their face. They waited until Asriel was in front of them before tossing their snowball. The snow crashed over his head.

"Youch!" Asriel jumped, looking back at them. " _Chara!_ " He tugged on the back of his coat and started squirming around. "Cold!"

Chara smirked, watching him dance around like a madman.

"Chara, it's down my back!" Asriel whined, shooting them a frown, but as soon as he locked eyes with them, he started giggling.

They walked on, the snow rushing past their face. Gaster took the lead, going straight. The snow was getting thicker and even though they were all close together, Chara still was worried. What if they got separated or lost here?

"Chara, are you okay?" Asriel turned to them.

They realized they had been frowning. They smiled at him. "Yeah."

"Mom says we're almost there." Asriel grabbed their hand. "I don't wanna get lost."

Chara smiled, their fingers getting warm. Through the trees, they could start to see rock. They were approaching the end of the cavern. The trees started to grow thinner. The ceiling came close to the ground, blocking the snow from the next section of the underground. The snow and dirt turned to stone under their feet. They passed under the ceiling, stepping around a puddle of water.

"Waterland?" Chara looked at Toriel.

"Yes, we have made it."

The crystals were a mix of purple and aqua-marine, casting a dim blue-green light around the cavern. The howl of the wind and snow was quickly left behind and they could hear new sounds: The sound of dripping water and distant waterfalls.

They felt a squeeze on their hand. They looked over at Asriel. He was frowning.

"You okay?" Chara asked.

" _You okay?"_ A voice came from down the hall. Chara's forehead creased. It sounded like _their_ voice.

Asriel's ears perked and he spun around. "Who was that?"

" _Who was that?"_

It sounded like Asriel. Chara looked down the path. They only other thing there except for rocks and water was a large blue flower. "Hello?" they tried.

" _Hello?"_

Chara pointed down the path. They turned to Asriel and brought their voice down to a whisper. "It's coming from over there. Is it mocking us?" They narrowed their eyes at the flower.

" _Is it mocking us_?" It echoed, their voice sounding quieter.

Asriel grinned and Chara grinned too, happy to see him happy again.

"That's so cool!" Asriel half skipped-half hopped down the path, his ears flopping behind him. He gave the plant an experimental poke. Chara stayed where they were. It didn't look like a normal flower. This flower gave of a faint blue light. Normal flowers didn't do that. Normal flowers also weren't about as tall as you were.

"What have you two found?" Asgore asked.

Asriel stepped to the side. "See, there is an echo-y flower."

" _See, there is an echo-y flower."_

Asgore put a hand on his chin. "I do remember seeing something like this before." He stroked one of the flower's petals.

" _I do remember seeing something like this before."_

"Hello," Asriel said in a squeaky voice.

" _Hello."_ It was a perfect match. Asriel giggled and ran down the path.

They followed him, looking down just in time to avoid stepping in a puddle. They would rather not get their shoes wet. They felt hot. This place was already a lot warmer than Snowland. Chara slipped off their jacket. They squeezed it into their knapsack.

Asriel swung around, almost bumping into them. "You know what, since echo flowers can say anything we say, they must have ears." He thought for a second, "It would also need a mouth so that it could talk. Dad, do echo flowers have souls?"

Asgore chuckled. "I do not think those flowers are sentient. How about next time we see one, you ask it?"

Asriel frowned again. He kicked the ground. A rock flew up, skipping a few times before splashing into the water. The light from the crystals shimmered and danced on its surface. They watched it. The mini waves lost its momentum, the dancing lights slowing down until the puddle stilled.

The others had walked on, apart from Asriel who was watching them, his ears drooping.

"You okay?" they asked.

Asriel shrugged, his frown deepening. He ambled after the group.

Was he mad at them? Chara frowned. They didn't know why, but they didn't want him to be mad. Even if they would be leaving soon, they would rather be on good terms with everyone. He was probably mad that he had to come with them to the barrier, that must be it. He had been complaining, wanting to go back the entire time. Chara opened their mouth to ask him.

"I guess I'm just sorta sad," Asriel said. He looked away.

Chara was taken aback. Sad? They waited for him to say something else.

When he looked back, his eyes were red. "You're going to be leaving." He sniffled. A tear ran down his face and he wiped it away. "Then I'm not going to see you again."

Chara felt something in their chest tighten: Their heart.

"And then you'll forget about me a-and…" Asriel's voice wavered.

"I won't forget about you," Chara said. They looked away. What if no one in their village believed them? Then where would they go? "Maybe I can come back some time and visit?"

Asriel's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll try to be better prepared this time. Bring along some rope or something so I won't have to take the long way back."

Asriel's ears perked, his mouth curled into a grin. "That's an awesome idea!" He walked with more spring in his step than before. He glanced behind him. "Come on, Chara. Let's catch up with mom and dad."

Chara smiled and skipped down the path with Asriel, but inside they felt conflicted. They didn't _promise_ to come back. They said maybe. They sighed. If everything turned out okay and they were able to go back, how would people react to them disappearing again and again up the mountain? Would people get suspicious? What if someone followed them?

"Chara. Look at the waterfall!" Asriel tugged on their sleeve, jerking them out of their thoughts.

The waterfall was so tall that they had to crane their neck back to glimpse the top. The water reflected the crystal light so much that it seemed luciferous. Nearer to the ceiling, the water was a vivid aquamarine, almost as vibrant as the gem itself. As it crashed and fell, the color dulled. The water roared, unleashing its fury on the rocks below. Its mist covered everything in a veil of cool water.

The trail winded around waterfalls. The atmosphere was peaceful, - the gentle lull of the water could have sang someone to sleep - but still this place felt sad. The only sound that they heard came from water. It fell from above, splashed when they stepped in puddles, and squashed as they tramped through mud.

The air around them had warmed to an almost midsummer heat. A low hum had started, quiet at first, getting louder with each step. Red light bled out from around the corner. The sound had marked the end of Waterland. They passed one last pool of water. The water bubbled and frothed, steam rising into the air. Chara could feel the heat on their cheeks.

They turned the corner, light forcing their eyes closed. They squinted. A haze of red and orange lit up this place. Not the crystals, this time. Lava. An ocean of lava was below them, gurgling and spitting, waves of fire lapping the sides. They were a few feet from the edge with nothing but lava far below to catch them. They took a step back.

A thin rock ledge jutted straight out from where they were, the lava gurgling below. Chara looked at it and their vision swam, the path tilting before their eyes.

They were supposed to walk down _that_ path?

"This is awesome looking!" Asriel jumped closer to the edge.

Toriel frowned. "Asriel, be caref-"

Asriel stumbled over his own feet and tottered, too close to the edge for comfort. Chara shut their eyes, waiting for something bad to happen. But nothing did. They looked over. Asriel was standing on the edge, looking down at the lava. A dark blue aura had settled around him, keeping him from actually falling.

"Asriel you must be careful. You might get hurt." Toriel chided, pulling him away from the ledge.

"If I may, your majesty," Gaster said. "Perhaps I should pass through here by myself. It is too dangerous for the children. Once I get to the end, I will be able to teleport everyone to the other side."

Toriel crossed her arms. "Are you sure that you should be traveling alone? It is risky."

"With my teleporting ability, it should actually be less so than if everyone came along."

"Go then. We will be waiting for you near the edge of Waterland, " Asgore said. He wiped his brow. "It is quite hot here."

Gaster nodded, "Of course."

When they got back to the safety of Waterland, Chara was able to relax. The temperature was cooler there and the path less dangerous, though the ground was muddy. Toriel reached into her bag and pulled out a small tablecloth to sit on.

They grabbed their sandwich. They took a few bites of it, their stomach throbbing more of nerves than hunger. They kept their eyes trained on the path, waiting to catch sight of Gaster. How much longer would this take?

Chara looked at the monsters. They all had been dragged here because of them. They dropped everything that they were doing to help them to the barrier. Monsters were weird. They frowned and turned away. They tried to pass the time by reorganizing their knapsack. They folded their sweater as small as possible so that it would fit better.

"I have made it through Hotland."

Chara looked up. Gaster was back.

"I can teleport everyone there, albeit I get a pause between each trip." Gaster offered his hand to Toriel. They disappeared and he came back alone a few minutes later.

"Can I go next?" Asriel asked.

Asgore stroked his chin. " _Can_ you?"

" _Dad_." Asriel crossed his arms. "May I?"

"Of course, Asriel."

Chara shifted back and forth, their feet unable to stay steady. They would be next. Gaster reappeared. Even next to burning lava his hand felt cold. There was a flash and suddenly they were away from the heat and the fire. Their knees buckled and a hand pressed against their shoulder, steadying them. Chara looked around, Toriel and Asriel were standing nearby. Gaster coughed and wiped his head, his posture sagging more than usual.

The dizziness passed and they looked around. The last section of the Underground reminded them more of Home than the others. They could see the red flame light, dancing on the wall, reflecting off of the lava place now behind them. It was cooler and flatter here. There were no drops or cliffs that they could fall off of.

"Hey, Chara," Asriel said. "Look at what's over here." He grabbed their hand.

"What?" They were pulled to a patch of sun. Grass grew wherever sunlight touched the ground. At the edges, the grass stalks were bent, leaning toward the light.

Asriel pointed toward the light. "Look up there!" He stood on his tippy toes, grinning.

Chara stuck their hand into a pocket. "What are you looking at?'

"The sky." Asriel stepped into the center of the light. He stretched out his hand. "It's so close, Chara."

Chara frowned. The part of the sky that they could see, if you would even call it that, wasn't pretty. It was a dulled light blue. The sky's image wavered as if they were looking at it through water. This place, this must have been the barrier.

"Are you two ready?" Asgore asked.

Chara nodded, curtly. The cave became masked with shadows that grew darker as they stepped forward. Light glimmered from around the corner.

They gasped. The barrier sparkled with rays of white and golden light, the sunset's rays. It loomed over them, emanating with both a majestic beauty and grief.

Asriel bounded up to it. "Can I?" He turned back to his mom, his hand hovering over the barrier..

Toriel nodded, "Of course, my child."

Asriel reached out and touched it. The barrier's surface rippled at his touch, barely even noticeable.

"This is the barrier," Asgore said. "It is through this that you will leave."

Chara watched but made no attempt to leave, not yet. "I-" Chara racked their mind for words to express their gratitude. They couldn't think of any. "Um..."

"We are very happy to have been helpful," Toriel said. "We want you to know how nice it has been to see some hope. That, one day, it will be possible for humans and monsters to co-exist peacefully."

Now _they_ were the ones thanking them. This made them feel even worse. Chara shook their head. "I haven't really done anything but get in your way." They looked down at their feet.

Chara forced a smile, "I should get going. There is stuff that I need to do." They stepped toward the barrier.

"Wait!" They heard a hiccup and turned. Asriel's nose twitched, his eyes shiny. He ran over, wrapping his arms around them. "Don't leave me."

Their eyes burned. "I'll be back, someday."

He hugged them tighter, his head against their shoulder. "Promise?" His words were muffled by the fabric.

"I promise." Chara held the embrace for a second longer before pulling away.

"Goodbye, Chara," Asriel rubbed his eyes, his face turned up in a half smile.

They should be feeling happy. They were getting out of there. They could go back to the village now, see what really happened and make amends. Why were they upset? They had only known the monsters for a few days. They turned to look at everybody one last time. "Um… Thank you, for everything." They walked forward.

They were not sure what they had expected the barrier to do. Shift around and allow them passage through? Teleport them to the surface? They ran into a completely solid wall.

Chara stumbled back, landing on the cold stone floor. "Wha-What happened?" they managed.

"Chara, are you okay?" Asriel rushed over.

N-no?" Chara stuttered. "Why didn't it work?" They pressed their palm against the barrier. Nothing. Their initial shock was replaced by terror. "It's not working." They pushed harder. Nothing happened. "It's not working!"

"Chara," Toriel said. Chara ignored her. They pounded on the barrier, knuckles burning.

They felt a hand touch their shoulder. "Chara, please. Calm down," Asgore said. "We can figure this out, together,"

"No!" Chara hit the barrier as hard as they could. Sharp pain shot up their hand and they let out a cry. "Why?" They forced themself to their feet and slammed into the barrier, sending them reeling onto the ground. They stifled a sob. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Chara stop, it's not working," Toriel said. "You're going to injure yourself."

"What am I doing wrong!" they shouted. They stood up, hands skinned and bloodied, determined to try again.

"Chara." Asgore grabbed onto their arm, his grip firm, but gentle.

They twisted wildly, trying to get back to the barrier. As if that would make a difference. "Get away from me!" they screamed. They spun around, landing a punch on Asgore's side. They swung again, but Asgore grabbed their wrist.

"Chara, you've got to calm down,"

"No!" They fought to escape. They tried, but they were exhausted. Their legs grew shaky and they fell to their knees. They hung their head, their hands cupped over their eyes, and their shoulders quivering. When they looked up, their face was streaked with silent tears.

"You don't understand. I've _got_ to get back." Their voice wavered and cracked. "I need to try again, please?" Chara resorted to begging. "Please?"

"Chara…"

They could tell by the pitch of Asgore's voice that the answer was no. They sobbed.

"Chara?" Asriel edged closer.

"Asriel, not right now." Toriel called him back. She stepped over to Chara, scooping them into a hug. "I am so sorry."

Chara's cries had devolved into hiccups.

"There, there," Toriel repeated, over and over again. "Everything will be okay, child."

Maybe it would be, if they were selfless. They were stuck here. Their village would never be burdened by them again. No one else would be hurt by them. Chara wiped their nose on their sleeve.

For their village, everything would be _more_ than okay.

Chara buried their face into Toriel's dress. Sobs shook their shoulders. Everyone would be okay. Almost everyone. Something in Chara's chest was shattering. They wouldn't ever be okay again.

"Oh, sweetheart…" They felt Toriel rise to her feet. Chara was too emotionally exhausted to argue.

"Dr. Gaster," they heard Asgore's deep voice ask. "Do you know what is keeping the human from crossing the barrier?"

"I cannot be sure," Gaster answered. "This entire situation is unprecedented. I will have to conduct some tests… for the time being, all that I can conclude is that the human is unable to cross. I wonder…"

Chara's sob turned into a shaky laugh. So they were broken. They didn't need a scientist to tell them that.

They had figured that out themself, a long time ago.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Now, check out Ask Drunk Chara on Tumblr! XD I love their art style. I spent this entire morning binge reading it instead of doing my homework. I regret nothing! See y'all next week.


	10. Chapter 10

Chara had been lying in bed for what felt like hours. No one had come in to check on them. No noises were heard outside their room. Everyone was probably asleep. Chara sighed. The first good luck they had so far. They shifted onto their stomach.

What had gone wrong? They curled their hand into a fist. What were they going to do now? They were stuck. There was no other way out, right? Their eyes drifted over to the bookcase. The human-monster war book. Perhaps...

Chara stood up, the floorboards creaking at their movement. They looked through the books, searching for a glossy cover. They skimmed through its pages.

 _The humans attacked viciously. The war was over in days, yet entire species of monsters were turned to dust. We surrendered to the humans. Any monsters who resisted were slaughtered. The rest were banished underground. Away from the sun and the sky and the stars._

Something in their chest tightened. They flipped to the next page.

 _Seven powerful wizards worked together to seal us monsters from the outside world. They constructed the barrier, a magic that traps us here._

On the next page was a picture, a rainbow. Words were scribbled off to the side. Chara leaned closer trying to make out the scrawled handwriting.

 _So the memory can live on._

The page blurred more and they realized it wasn't the lighting making it hard to read. They blotted their eyes, scowling. They were so stupid and emotional.

They were such a crybaby.

They had only a few pages left. The next one only had words on it.

 _There is next to no knowledge about the barrier. Even as the years pass, nothing has changed. Monsters can only infer at ways which stuff passes through. Every now and then, mainly in Waterland, something falls down here. This has led us to the only conclusion we can: Anything can enter, but only those with a powerful soul can leave._

They went still, their mind taking a few seconds to process this. At first, they felt a slight surge of hope. There was a way out. That hope faltered and came crashing down just as quickly. Only those with a powerful soul.

Not them.

How strong did a soul have to be? Chara took a deep breath. Was there a way to make their soul stronger? Was it even possible? They flipped through the last couple of pages. They were blank.

That was it? They turned back to the front and flipped through the pages again. They must have missed something. They reached the last page again. End of story. Nothing new.

They slammed the book closed. It was useless. They hurled it at the bedroom wall. Someone could get out, someone could pass. Not them. They weren't strong enough.

What were they going to do now?

There was a light knock, the hollow sound of a single knuckle tapping the door. Chara bolted upright. Their eyes fell on the book, pages splayed against the floor.

"Chara?" Asriel's voice was tentative. The sound was nearly swallowed by the wood door.

"Yeah?"

"Morning, Chara!" His voice grew louder. "Mom says breakfast is ready, if you want some."

"I don't." They laid their head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. The paint on the ceiling was bumpy. If they focused hard, they could see pictures in the dots.

"Oh..." Asriel sounded disappointed. "Do you wanna play at least?"

Chara raised their hand above their face, their pointer finger tracing imaginary lines to turn the dots into constellations. "...Sure."

"Cool!"

Chara frowned. They were hoping that he would have left them alone. The door creaked and Asriel bounced into the room. They watched him out of the corner of their eyes.

"Whatcha wanna do?" Asriel asked.

They shrugged.

He studied them, face turned into a frown. He pulled one of his ears nervously. "You okay?"

They flicked their eyes back to the ceiling. "I'm fine."

"Oh. That's good." Asriel said. "Just a second. I made something for you." He skipped out of the room and came back with a sheet of paper. "Here you go."

The paper felt waxy in their hands. They sat up to take a look. The whole page, front and back, had been completely covered with crayon, a bunch of scribbles in different colors.

"Thanks." Chara said, setting it next to them on the bed.

"We can draw if you wanna." Asriel said. "I can go get my drawing stuff."

They felt sick. They were stuck down here. They wanted to be alone. They should have pretended to be asleep. "I don't really want to."

Asriel paused. "Whatcha want to do, then? We have more board games that I could teach you how to play," he said.

Chara shook their head.

"Hm." Asriel put a hand on his chin. His eyes widened. "Ooh, I know!" He grabbed their hand and pulled them out of bed. "I could show you around Home today."

They twisted their hand away. "I don't really-"

"Aw, why not?" Asriel's ears drooped. "It's really awesome."

They turned away.

"Chara?" He asked. His voice raised a pitch.

"I don't want... I can't..." Their voice cracked. They looked down.

"Chara, are you okay?" He came up to them. His eyes were wide and concerned.

Their throat tightened. "Leave," they managed.

"Oh." Asriel went quiet. "Okay, Chara."

They could hear a deflated tone in his voice. He walked away. They didn't move until the door shut behind him.

They were alone. They fell back onto the mattress. What were they going to do now? They were all alone here. They were still with monsters, but this time there was no possibility of escape. They tapped their fist against the bedframe, keeping a slow, steady beat with their racing mind.

Tap.

They didn't know what to do.

Tap.

Their chest ached. They felt sick. This was all their fault.

Tap.

Their village would be happy to never hear from them again.

Tap.

Their fist was starting to hurt. Chara didn't care. They hit harder.

Tap.

They didn't have to face their village. They would not have to see the hate and disappointment in their faces.

Tap.

They wouldn't have to face Fl-

No, they wouldn't think about that. Chara smacked the bedframe as hard as their could, letting out a whimper as pain shot through their hand. They bit their lip, cupping their injured fist with their other hand. The pain only dulled the edge of the gnawing guilt in their stomach.

They had let everyone down, right?

Chara closed their eyes. They should have stayed. They took in a breath, telling themself that it would be okay.

They forced themself out of bed. Their hand burned and they tried to ignore it by reading another book. They skimmed through a few books before selecting one full of short stories. They started to read, but their mind kept drifting. They read story after story, each one only a page or two. They came to one about plants in a garden.

 _And then, in the desolate fields, a flower emerged from the ash._

They frowned, their stomach knotting. Why did it bother growing? It wasn't going to survive. Not forever.

 _And then, in the desolate fields, a flower emerged-_

Another flower? Flowers made them think of their village and Flower and what had happened. The lines shifted and blurred on the page. What was this story even about? They were on the third page, near the end, and they still had no clue what they were reading.

 _And then, in the desolate…_ They sighed. They were reading the same thing over and over. They tried the next line. _It...Was…_ Water drops smeared the black ink. They couldn't focus. They slammed the book closed. The story was dumb, anyway. They let it drop to the floor. No matter what they tried, their mind kept circling back to one thought.

 _I'm_ _stuck_.

They brought their hands to their head, sinking to their knees on the hard wood floor.

 _I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I'm-_

The door creaked opened. Chara lifted their head, not even attempting to hide their tearstained face.

Toriel's smile was strained, "How are you doing, Chara?" Her voice was gentle.

Chara looked away. They didn't deserve that kindness.

"I have brought you some food. You missed breakfast." Toriel held a large plate of lasagna. "You may eat lunch with us, if you would like. We could go on a walk around town, get out of the house for a little while."

Chara stood. "Thanks." They forced themself to take the plate, dropping it on the nightstand. "I don't really want to go anywhere right now."

 _Except home._

"That is okay, Chara." Toriel said.

Chara kicked their feet against the bed frame. Toriel watched them silently. They ground their teeth, gripping the quilt. They wished that she would leave.

Toriel clasped her hands together. "If there is anything that we can do to help..." Toriel cast her gaze down. "I am so sorry, child."

Chara already knew the answer, but they didn't care. They needed to be completely sure. "What happened?" They looked down, closing their eyes. "It was supposed to work, wasn't it? A person with a strong enough soul could pass through the barrier, right?"

Chara heard Toriel shuffle closer. They didn't look up.

"I'm not strong enough. So this is my fault, too?" They sniffled. "Just like everything else is."

Instantly, arms were pressed around them.

"Hush. We had thought humans would be able to pass through, but they can not. This is not about being strong."

They looked down, shoulders shaking. Their breath came in bursts. Toriel brushed their bangs out of their face and Chara pushed away.

Toriel gave a sad smile. "I do not know much about you, but I can sense it. You have been through a lot haven't you, Chara? Take your time. I hope that one day you will be able to see us how we are, monsters, and not feel scared." Toriel turned and walked away.

Chara felt relieved. Good, she was gone. But in a few seconds, Toriel had returned. She set a glass of water on the nightstand. "If you need me, I am here." Toriel waited a few moments before she left.

They weren't hungry. Chara walked over to their bed and flicked off the light switch. They slipped under the covers and pretended to be asleep in case anyone else came. They felt exhausted, but their mind was going too fast to sleep. They could only gaze up at the ceiling, wondering about what must be happening on the surface. No one missed them. _She_ didn't even miss them.

She probably hated them.

Chara would miss her and the others nevertheless. Their dad their friends. Nobody cared.

Chara wanted to throw their covers off and run to the place they had fallen in. If someone was looking for them, they would have to be nearby. They could shout, see if anyone would peer down from above and spot them.

Would they even be heard?

They felt tears prickle their eyes. What difference would it make if people were in hearing distance or even standing right next to the cave? Nobody cared enough. Even if they were heard-

Nobody would come.

* * *

Guess what! I drew a picture for this story! It is my profile picture for Ao3 and both my profile and story picture for Fanfiction. I'm really proud of how it turned out. :) If you want to see it in the best quality, I also have it posted on my Deviantart account. My Deviantart username is also stichisich.

This week, please check out Camila Cuevas on Youtube. She's an awesome animator who is working on a series called Glitchtale. She just posted a teaser for the next episode and oh my! I can't wait! xD. Thank you for reading and see ya all next week


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: First, to anyone who didn't get a notification because of the Fanfiction bug, there _was_ an update last week. y'all should probably back up a chapter and make sure that you've read that one first. :) Thank you for reading

* * *

Chara looked around the room with a frown. They didn't want to go. They want to back to bed. Maybe they would wake up in their _own_ bed in their house, this just a bad dream. Today, the Dreemurrs were going to take them around town. They were supposed to be getting ready. Chara sat on the edge on the bed, glaring at the two green sweaters folded on their bedspread. Matching with Asriel stunk, but their own clothes were filthy. Toriel had suggested that they change out for at least long enough for it to get washed.

"Chara, are you coming? It's almost time to go," Asriel called from the other side of the oak door.

Chara could hear the excitement in his voice. They sighed and grabbed the larger of the two sweaters. There was another knock on their door.

"I'm coming, Asriel." They looked at the sweater for a second more before slipping it on. They crumpled their old shirt in their fist, tossing it to the ground without a look. The act of switching clothes made it official. They were going to be here for a long time.

They stepped into the hallway and turned, glimpsing their reflection in the mirror. Their hair stuck out in clumps, their disheveled appearance seeming to match their frown. The whites of their eyes were tinted with red. Dark, sleep deprived hallows outlined the skin beneath them. Chara squinted and hoped no one would notice.

"Howdy, Chara. Ready to go around town? I'm so excited. I can show you all of the cool places." Asriel hopped from one foot to the other. "You can meet some of the other monsters down here, too. They're really nice, I promise."

Chara turned away, frowning. Was his obnoxiously positive attitude forced, or was he that naive? Did he really expect everything to be okay? They were stuck here. Chara shifted past him and walked to the door.

"We should wait for mom, Chara."

They turned.

"Golly, you don't look too good." Asriel's ears drooped. "Are you doing okay?" There was a hint of worry in his voice.

Chara shrugged. They turned the doorknob and stepped out.

"Mom, I think we're going!" They could hear his loud, clumsy steps behind them. His feet clattered against the stone as he skipped after them. "Mom said that we can be out here, but we've gotta wait at the corner. Chara, wait. You're going too fast!"

They reached the split and looked back. Asriel's parents still weren't there. Chara crossed their arms and leaned against the wall. What was taking them so long? They sooner they all left, the sooner they could come back. Their foot tapped impatiently.

"Ooh! I have an idea." Asriel squatted down and brushed the stone with his hand.

Chara lifted an eyebrow. The stone path was covered with a layer of dirt. His was going to get his fingers dirty.

Asriel brushed away the dirt, leaving lines of shiny stone. He made another few scratch marks and plopped down. "Chara, look." He sounded proud. "I made a tic tac toe game. You can go first, if you want to."

There was still no sign of Asgore or Toriel. They shrugged, but bent over, marking an X into the middle box with the back of their nail.

"Gosh dang it! I was going to pick that one."

The door swung open, and Toriel stepped out. Asgore came after her, his golden mane neatly combed. Instead of the usual dirty gardening shirts that Chara had seen him wear before, Asgore was wearing a long purple robe with a cape long enough that the hem brushed against the ground, sending plumes of dust spinning in his wake.

"Alright, children. We can go now," Asgore said. Chara stiffened. They watched as he stepped forward, light glinting harshly off of his horns. He saw them looking and his eyes met theirs. In the dim light, his face was overcast by shadows. The smile wrinkles on his face were erased by the darkness, leaving an empty expression. In his purple and and billowing cape, he looked like a king. Chara stood frozen.

The moment passed. Asgore took another step forward and the light fell across his face. He gave Chara a warm smile. "Excited?"

Chara ducked their head. They nodded, brushing their foot over the tic-tac-toe game, ending the game with a draw.

The front door shut. Toriel walked briskly down the path towards them. She was wearing a light purple dress. She smoothed out the wrinkles and lifted her head. "Let us not dawdle now." She looked at Chara. Her smile softened. "Are you sure that you are up for this, child? We have rushed this a bit. I do think that getting out of the house would do you some good, but we can wait."

Chara shrugged. "I don't-" Their voice cracked. They swallowed and tried again. "I don't care." They kicked at the dirt. Dust clung to their sock. "Whatever you guys want."

Chara kept their head lowered. From behind knots of hairs, they saw Toriel purse her lips. "You do not sound very sure. Is anything the matter?"

"No." Chara said too quickly. Toriel raised her eyebrows. Chara looked over their shoulder down the path. "It's just-"

Toriel smiled reassuringly. "We will be staying on the outskirts, away from where the majority of the monsters live." Chara pinked. Apparently, they weren't as unreadable as Chara had thought.

"Come." Toriel took their hand.

Asriel bounced happily to their side, grabbing onto their other one and giving it a squeeze. "You don't need to be nervous. I'm right here." He grinned, his fangs glinting in the light.

Fangs that didn't look near as frightening, anymore.

Asgore took Toriel's hand, making the group into one long line. The rock over their heads grew farther away as they passed through the archway and into the town. Chara willed themself to stay calm. They didn't need to be afraid. Everything was going to be okay. They heard a rustle in the leaves behind them and, even among these nice monsters, the fear returned. They looked back, their paranoia expecting a monster to pop up at any second.

"Mom, we should go to the store and buy some candy!" Asriel started to tug the line down the street "Please. Chara could try some."

There was another crinkling in the leaves and a frog monster hopped out in front of them. Chara shrank back, their grip on Toriel and Asriel's hands tightening.

"Maybe some other time, Asriel." Toriel looked at them. "Chara, would you like to stay around here? We do not have to get closer to the busy part of town if you do not want to."

They nodded.

The group turned onto a side street. Toriel had been telling the truth, this street was quiet. They only had to pass by monsters a few times. It wasn't too bad. The monsters would nod or greet the Dreemurrs as they walked by, some didn't seem to notice Chara at all. A few of them eyed Chara curiously. They looked down and avoided making eye contact until they were safely passed.

"Have you gotten word from Dr. Gaster yet, dear?" Toriel asked Asgore.

Asgore shook his head. "He is not scheduled to meet with me for another week."

"For what?" Asriel asked.

"Dr. Gaster is working on a new project." Toriel said. "He is in Hotlands, building a lab with the help of a small team of monsters. He wants to do research there."

"What kind of research?"

"Thermal energy. He wants to see if the heat from Hotland could be converted into power."

"Oh." Asriel looked bored. "Hey, Chara. How you doing?" he asked.

Chara shrugged.

A movement at the corner of their vision caught their attention. A small ball of fur was moving toward them. Chara balled their fists and took a small step back behind Toriel.

Their appearance suggested a dog crossed with a cat. Their ears were the feature that drew Chara's attention the most. One pair of ears was pointed and stuck straight up in the air. The other pair was large and round, lying at the sides of their head in a mess of gray hair. They turned to them and shouted what Chara could only assume was a greeting.

"hOi! I'm TEmMie!" The monster smiled, the tips of their ears barely coming up to Chara's knee. Another one, identical to the first, turned the corner. "AnD DiS iS mY fWEnD, tEmMie!"

All of a sudden, a dozen of them ran out. "hOi! i'M tEmMiE! AnD DiS iS My fWenD, TeMmiE!" They all greeted. The creatures were enthusiastic, seemingly ecstatic to meet someone new.

Chara looked around, trying to figure out who the original Temmie was. They couldn't.

"wE tEMs hAVe jUsT FiNisHed dA gWeAt tEm WAr!" One shouted, with the same level of glee as their introduction. "Me aNd All Me fwEndS gOt HOIVES! We hAd a LOng AnD HarD BaTtle AgAinsT dA HOIVES To Go gEt suM AnTi itChY crEaM. FwoM Da aNti iTchY crEaMY sTOrE-"

Another Temmie pushed the first one to the side. "BUt bY Da tiMe wE GoT tHEre, aLL oF R HOIVES wAs Gon. So We diNt gEt anY AnTi iTchY CreAm."

A new one jumped up. "NoW wE coM BaK fWOm R wAr aLL cUreD! We tEmS WoN wAr!" A cheer went up among the Temmies.

"So nOw dA teMS WiLL TrAVeL tO fAr aWaY laNdS aNd FinD uS A hOMe! DiS wiLL mAke uS sUm dEEEEEEEEEEEEp hiSToWy!" The Tem nodded seriously.

"AwW, U iS CuTe!" A Tem broke from the group and bounced closer to Chara. "iS U a HooMan?" They asked. "CuZ tEm luV HoomAnS! TeM tHinKs sMoL hOOmaNs iS cUTe!"

"Dat's a HooMan!" A different Temmie cried. "TeMs… AttaaaaaaaCK!"

Toriel raised a hand, "Now, Temmies, Settl-"

A dozen Tems rushed forward. Chara was taken off guard and had hardly time to take a step back before the mob was upon them. They were knocked off balance and fell backwards. The Tems were immediately all over them, sniffing their face and clothes.

Chara sat up, half of the Temmies jumping into their lap. Chara looked over at Asriel for help.

"Chara, pttf, you-" He snorted and laughed.

The Temmie nuzzled against Chara's jeans. Suddenly, it flinched backwards and sneezed. "BUt TEmMie. AllErGic! WheN TemMiE aLLerGieS! tEmMie gEt…. HOIVES!" The Tem backed up, sentences littered by sneezes.

"aHh! MoR teM waR! TeMS mUsT-" sneeze "-fiGHt! TeMs.. AttaaaaaaaaCk!" The Tems galloped away, all the while breaking out in hives. Chara and Asriel stood, open mouthed, eyes following the Tems until all of them were gone and Chara was able to find their voice.

"Well…" Their mouth curled up into a grin.

Asriel continued to stare at the vacant spot where the Temmies had been. "Think they're okay? I wouldn't like it if I got all itchy."

"The Temmie's will be better in a few minutes," Toriel said.

They looked over at Asriel and, for a moment, they kept straight faces. Then, they both burst into laughter. They weren't able to stand up and continue walking for a few minutes. They shook with laughter, so much that their stomach started to hurt. It felt good to laugh. Their cheeks felt pinched from smiling for too long.

As soon as this crossed their mind, the knot in their stomach was back. They turned away, their palms covering their frown to feign laughter. They didn't deserve to be happy.

Not after what they had done.

* * *

The school year passed quickly, though not as quickly as Chara would have wanted it to. But at last, the school bell rang one final time and all of the kids rushed outside. Summer had begun.

Chara stepped down the stairs out of the school and into the summer heat. He walked over the the big oak that grew near the school. Ten or so kids were under the tree, waiting in its shade for their parents to come and pick them up. Chara shifted his heavy backpack from shoulder to shoulder and looked back. Niko was a few kids behind them.

"You coming?" Chara asked.

Niko gave him a thumbs up and stepped over. "Aren't we supposed to be walking to your house?"

Chara pushed a few split ends out of his eyes. "Well, it's hot."

"Let's go." Niko started walking. Chara followed. His house was only a few blocks away from the school. He pushed open the front door, feeling a wave of cold air brush past him. In the house, Chara slid his backpack off. The bag, heavy with books and school supplies, clunked to the ground. "Just drop your stuff over there."

Chara walked down the hallway, listening to see if his mom was talking. If she was, that meant that she was on a call and they should be quiet. He didn't hear anything so he walked up to the door to the office and looked inside.

His mom was typing away at her computer keyboard, her headset hanging carelessly around her neck. She turned at the sound of him walking in, took the headset off, and placed it on the table next to her. "Come here, Chara. How was your last day of kindergarten?"

Chara came forward and his mom gave him a hug. "Good," Chara said.

"That's good. I made cookies for you and Niko to eat. They are on the counter. If you two stay in the house, you need to keep it down, okay? I have to take another call in a few minutes."

"Okay, mom," Chara said. He grabbed a cookie and offered a second one to Niko. "Let's go outside." The two of them ran out the back door and down the steps into the backyard.

His house was on the edge of town. There was no fence surrounding the backyard. Passed the freshly cut lawn and weeded flower beds was a forest. Chara looked up. Mt. Ebott loomed high above them, a constant presence. Chara closed one eye, reaching one hand up so that it was level with the the top of the mountain.

Niko laughed. "Chara, what are you doing?"

"Petting the top of the mountain?"

Then Niko was closing his own eye and trying it, too.

Chara's dad came around the side of the house, wheeling a wheelbarrow. In it was a small bag of mulch and an equally tiny toddler.

The wheelbarrow hit a bump and Chara's brother let out a laugh, gripping the side tighter. His dad stopped by the garden near the end of the yard.

"Okay, It's time to get out now." His dad scooped the toddler up and set him onto the ground. He grabbed the bag of mulch and dropped it onto the grass. "Hey, Chara. I need to go back and grab the rest of the mulch. Can you watch Ben for a minute? Just make sure that he doesn't run off."

"Okay."

"I'll be back." Chara's dad pushed the wheelbarrow away.

Niko licked the chocolate off of his fingers, the cookie already gone. "Hey, Chara. Guess what?" He grinned.

"Hm?"

Niko tapped his shoulder. "You're it!" He sprang away, laughing.

"Hey!" Chara ran after him. He glanced back at his brother. Ben had found a fuzzy caterpillar and was too busy watching it crawl from hand to hand to be up to anything. He would be fine.

Chara ran after Niko. After a few zigzaged laps around the yard, he ran past the treeline and into the forest. Chara chased after him.

They darted through the woods, and slowly Chara began to close in. Niko looked back, seeing Chara right on his heels, and put on a burst of speed, hopping over a small brook.

Chara's feet hit the mud and he slid for a step before regaining his balance.

"Hah." Niko turned back long enough to stick out his tongue.

From behind them was a dull crash. "Chara, what are you doing!"

Chara wheeled around.

His dad ran towards Niko and him. "Both of you come back here, now." His dad's voice was low and serious.

Chara and Niko stepped back over the brook to him. Something in his tone sounded off. He almost sounded scared himself, which in turn frightened Chara. "What's wrong?"

Chara's dad grabbed their sleeve, tugging him back towards their house. "You know what I've told you. Don't go into the woods back there." Still, his voice portrayed more worry then anger.

They got back to their backyard. The wheelbarrow was lying on its side, mulch strewn across the grass. Chara's dad crouched down to their level. "You should have known better, both of you."

"But the mountain is way over there." Chara pointed. "I thought that it was okay because we only went a little way and-"

"It is _not_ okay." His father grabbed Chara's wrist, turning him to face him. "Do you hear me? Do _not_ go anywhere near that mountain."

"But-"

"Chara." The grip on Chara's wrist tightened.

"Okay, dad." Chara looked down.

Chara's dad patted his shoulder. "Good." He let out a deep sigh. He was quiet for a long time before he looked back at them.

"I don't want anything to happen to you two."

* * *

First, let me acknowledge the elephant in the room... Francine, happy birthday. (Zootopia anybody?)

No, but seriously. I've done a thing that a lot of people (Including myself) are probably not going to like. As much as I would rather write Chara being gender neutral the entire time, I realize that this doesn't make a lot sense, considering this one major part of their backstory...

Don't worry, they'll get back to their usual gender neutral pronouns eventually.

Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is a little late, I've been working on it the majority of the weekend, but I'm still not completely satisfied with the quality of this chapter. With school activities, sports, and final prep., I just can't find the time to do this how I want to. My purpose for writing this story is to improve as a writer, as well as give you all the best that I can manage at this time, so for the next two updates, I'm going to be changing my update schedule to every other week. NOTE: This is not me losing steam with the story, not even almost, I promise you. Once summer comes, we'll be home free, and I'll be getting you weekly chapters again.

If you feel as if you haven't gotten your weekly quota of feels you should read 'Flowey Is Not a Good Life Coach' by unrestedjade on archiveofourown. WARNING! It is super dark. You have been warned. See ya'll in two weeks!


	12. Chapter 12

Over the next few days, Chara got to know the outskirts of town better. The Dreemurrs led Chara on walks around the town. They started to feel more relaxed, though they still kept watch for the Temmies. They would rather not be suddenly tackled again if they could help it. So far, they hadn't run into any Tems.

They were stuck. There was no way out. They could feel the knot in their stomach tighten. There were two reasons. One was the surface. They often found themself thinking about it. What was happening up there? How was everybody doing? They also asked a different question, one that they hadn't dared to ask even Asriel.

What would happen now?

Chara sat at the kitchen table, a half eaten bowl of cereal at their spot. Their gaze shifted past Toriel to the pale almond wall behind her.

Toriel and Asgore hadn't said anything to them about the barrier or any other ways of getting out. Asriel hadn't asked them anything else about the surface, which Chara was relieved about, though they couldn't help but feel that his parents had instructed him not to. Even if Chara wasn't clear on what would happen next, the Dreemurrs at least didn't seem to mind that Chara was at their house for the time being. How long would the Dreemurrs be okay with them staying?

"Chara?"

Toriel and Asgore must have duties. Chara frowned. Were the Dreemurrs mad at them? Now Asgore and Toriel had to take care of them on top of all of their other royal duties. They were just an inconvenience. Things couldn't stay like this forever. Their grip on the spoon tightened. They were dining with royalty.

"Chara?" Toriel waved a hand in their direction.

"Huh?" Chara looked at her.

Toriel smiled. "Do you two want to join me today? I will be running errands around town."

Chara shook their head. Any sort of shopping would probably put them near the center of the town. They looked away from Toriel to their bowl, their spoon swishing a few brightly colored marshmallows around in circles.

What would happen to them now since they couldn't go back? They opened their mouth to ask her, but shut it. Their throat tightened. They couldn't find the words. Chara took a small spoonful of milk to soothe their throat.

"You do not have to, if you do not want to," Toriel said. "There would be a lot of monsters to meet all at once." She stood and took her own empty bowl to the sink.

"Tori, I can take care of that for you." Asgore said, offering a hand.

She smiled. "I can manage."

"I know you can, but there are many tasks you have to get done today. It is the least I could do," Asgore said.

Toriel handed him her bowl. "I will be back shortly," she turned to go. "Thank you, Gorey."

At his dad's nickname, Asriel let out a little giggle, his cheeks swelling as he tried not to laugh. He turned back to Asgore. "Dad, can we go outside, too?"

"As long as Chara is okay with that, I do not see why not." Asgore nodded. "I am expecting Dr. Gaster to arrive with a progress report sometime within a few hours, so if you end up back in the house, try not to make too much noise. Okay?"

Asriel grinned, giving Asgore two thumbs up. "Got it."

Chara set their bowl next to the sink.

"Come on, Chara," Asriel said.

"Please do not wander too far away. All right, Asriel?" Asgore said.

"Okay." Asriel skipped out. As soon as the door shut, he turned to Chara and let out a giggle. "Bleh, that's not even one of the bad nicknames." He wrinkled his nose.

Chara said nothing, their gaze drifting away from Asriel and down the path. The rock slabs that lined the ground were chipped and uneven. It looked the same as yesterday and the day before that. They were underground with no weather to change anything. They figured that it would always look this way: pale purple walls, crusty streets, and a sad tree growing in the middle of it all.

They stepped forward towards the tree. Buds had started to appear on more of its branches, their edges a vibrant emerald green. Somehow the crystal lighting was similar enough to sunlight light for normal trees to grow. Chara narrowed their eyes. Unless it wasn't a normal tree. Were _any_ of the plants here normal, or was it all _monster_ flora?

"Hey, Chara?"

Chara looked up. Asriel was almost at the end of the hall.

"I thought that you were right behind me." He motioned for them to come over.

Chara walked over. On reflex, they tried to stuff their hands into their pockets, but their fingers slid off their stomach. They looked down and sighed. There wasn't a pocket in this sweater.

Asriel caught their look. "You okay?"

A dash of homesickness lanced through them. Chara's throat felt tight, like someone's fist was around their neck, their fingers slowly digging into their throat. It made each breath take effort. They took a deep breath.

"Yeah," they managed, summoning up the hint of a smile, but Asriel's attention had already drifted from them.

He was looking at the ground. "Golly, Chara! Come here." He dropped to his knees, his hands cupping around the ground.

"Hm?" Chara paused, taking one more deep breath before stepping over.

Asriel lifted his hands, still firmly clasped, for Chara to see. "I found an ant!" he said. He opened his fist gingerly. It was empty.

Asriel's eyes widened. "Where did it go?" He checked the backs of his hands. "What if I squished it?" He bit his lip.

"Maybe you just dropped it?" Chara suggested.

Asriel looked around.

Chara saw something small crawling away from them. "There?" they asked, their finger pointing to it.

"Found it!" Asriel lifted a hand to grab it again, but paused, his hand hovering over the ant. After a second's hesitation, he pulled it back. "I don't wanna end up squishing it." The ant reached the wall and disappeared into a crack.

Another ant popped out of the crack. Chara pointed to it.

"Oh, that must be Anty's friend." Asriel sat down and brought his face closer to the crack. "There's another one here. Anty must has two friends!"

A third ant came out of the hole. "They live there, I think," Chara said.

"Woah!" Asriel ran over. He watched them for a moment. "I'm going to go inside and ask dad if we have any food for ants. Ants can eat pretty much anything, right?"

Chara's eyes furrowed. "I think so?"

Asriel had already flung open the door and ran inside. The door slammed shut behind him, the noise echoing off the cave walls. Something small clunked onto the path a few steps away.

Chara looked up, wary in case something else decided to fall down. When everything was still and silent again, Chara stepped over and picked it up for inspection. In their palms a small crystal glowed, it's color a dull purple. They rubbed their fingers along its smooth surface, brushing off the layer of dust and revealing a deep purple color underneath.

"Howdy, Chara. I'm back." Asriel hopped down the steps and ran over, waving a cracker triumphantly. "Dad said we could." He snapped it in two, examining each part of it for a second before handing the larger of the pieces to Chara. "You can put that one down."

Chara placed it off to the side of the crack, being sure not to block the exit. Asriel did the same on the other side of the anthill.

He giggled. "Chara, their house is being surrounded by food. They're going to be so confused when they step out."

His comment caught them off guard and pictures of extremely confused ants filled their mind. They snorted, a smile on their face. "Yeah, I guess so." Chara was still smiling when they heard footsteps echo from around the corner.

They took a half step back, their eyes narrowing. Toriel couldn't be back yet. They saw a monster turn the corner at the end of the street towards them, and they felt themself relax. It was the scientist.

Dr. Gaster.

Like the last time they saw him, his black suit coat was tidy and free of lint, giving him a sophisticated look. Today, instead of his usual good posture, his head was angled slightly toward the ground. He walked slowly, the loose pebbles hardly crunching under his steps. Gaster seemed lost deep in thought, one hand tapping his side.

"Howdy, Dr. Gaster," Asriel said. "Here to talk to dad?"

Gaster looked up. " I beg your pardon?"

"You coming to talk to my dad?"

Gaster nodded. "Construction has gone far better than I had hoped. Work on the laboratory is well under way. I have just finished mapping out the dimensions for a device that can make use of Hotland's vast supply of power."

Chara's eyebrows furrowed. They tried to recall what Toriel had said about this earlier that week. "Thermal energy?"

A small smile appeared on Gaster's usually serious face. "Correct."

Their eyebrows furrowed. What would the device do? He passed by. They wanted to ask him, the words on the tip of their tongue.

"Wha-" By the time they gathered the courage to ask, Gaster was already inside.

* * *

The fire crackled in the brick alcove, filling the house with warmth. Chara and Asriel were sprawled out on the wood floor, drawing. Chara looked up from their picture to the fireplace. The red flames danced and flickered. A peaceful hum filled the air.

"Chara," Toriel said. They turned their head. Toriel stood over them, a serious look on her face. "Is it okay if Asgore and I talk to you in your room for a bit?"

Chara furrowed their eyebrows. "I guess." Toriel held out a hand and helped them to their feet.

"Can I come, too?" Asriel hopped up.

"I am sorry, Asriel." Toriel shook her head. "Asgore and I wish to talk to Chara in private."

Chara felt their nervousness increase as they followed Asgore and Toriel down the hall. What was going on? Why couldn't Asriel listen in? They paused in the doorway, their grip tight on the wood frame.

"Chara, come and sit down," Toriel said.

They looked from Toriel to Asgore, the knot in their stomach tightening. They walked over and sat, their arms wrapped around their side.

Asgore cleared his throat. "As you know, passing through the barrier did not work." His voice was deep and loud, even though the edge of his voice suggested that he trying to be gentle. Chara looked down at their feet. He was a lot scarier than Toriel.

"Dr. Gaster came back to tell me the progress he's made," Asgore said. "After looking into your case, he has only been able to conclude that human souls are not able to cross through the barrier. It seems that you may be here for a long time."

Chara was at a loss for words. The reality of them being stuck stung more than it should. Something in them had known that they wouldn't be able to get out as soon as they failed at crossing the barrier, but they had still held on the the feeble hope that maybe the monsters could find a way to help them.

"You have been staying with us thus far. Now that it is certain you will be in the Underground longer, there are things around here that should change."

They tried to keep their face neutral, not turned up in shock like how they felt. What the monsters were saying was that they were being kicked out. They would have to take care of themselves from now on. What could they do now?

Chara frowned. They were being stupid and ungrateful. The monsters had done too much for them, already. Of course they weren't able to stay here. They could feel the other monster's eyes on them and they cleared their throat.

"I'm..." They looked down.

Toriel looked at them. "Yes, Chara?"

"Sorry." Chara brushed their hair behind their ear. "I'm sorry."

"Chara, child. Whatever are you talking about?" Toriel asked.

Chara sniffled, looking down. Their throat felt tight, and they struggled for a few seconds before they could get the next few words out. "For getting in the way."

Toriel pursed her lips. "That is not true, Chara."

"No." Chara's eyes were shiny. "It's okay. Thank you, for what you've done." They tried hard not to let out a cry. They didn't want to play the pity card here or appear ungrateful. The Dreemurrs had already done so much for them. They should just leave. They stood up and turned to go.

"No. You do not understand." They felt Toriel's hand on their shoulder.

They turned.

"Would you like to live here with us for the time being?"

Chara's mouth hung open, their eyes blinking dumbly. It took them a few seconds to get their bearings. Their mouth opened and closed, opened and closed again. They scratched their arm. "But I didn't…"

"You can think about it, if you want."

They didn't need to. "Thank you." They forced a little smile. "Thank you."

Toriel smiled, offering her hand. "Come, now. Let us go back to the living room." She helped them up.

Chara walked to the hall and looked down towards the living room. The room was vacant. "Where's-"

"Stealth hug!" Hands wrapped around them from behind.

"Yikes!" Chara jumped.

"Heh." Asriel let go. "I surprised you."

Chara narrowed their eyes. "No you didn't. I was just…preoccupied."

"Gosh darn it!" Asriel scowled. "I'll just have to be more stealthy-ish next time."

"Asriel," Toriel warned. "What have I told you about listening in?"

Asriel giggled and ran out the room.

"Stealthy-ish," Chara muttered under their breath and shook their head.

 _Wow, this family._ They smiled and tried to chuckle, but their breath caught in their throat.

 _This family…_

* * *

"Come on, Chara." Niko looked over his shoulder at him. "Go faster. My brother's finally home!" His voice was pitched more excited than usual. That fall, His brother had gone away to a university, and it had been so long. Niko waited for Chara to get close and grabbed his wrist, forcing Chara into a fast walk. "You're being so slow."

"My backpack's all heavy," Chara complained. "We get too much homework."

Niko looked back at him, his face grinning. "Maybe you wouldn't get so much homework if you actually did it in class."

"I _do_." Chara pulled free and walked faster down the path. "Come on, then."

They walked down the gravel road. Niko's house was farther away than Chara's, not in the town at all. He lived on a small family farm a few miles away. Most days, he was given a ride home by his dad, but his brother had to be picked up from the airport. Either way, Niko's dad claimed that the fresh air would be good for them. They came to where the road split off and turned onto the path to Niko's house. He could see a car parked next to the house.

"Nathan!" Niko shouted, running up the drive. Chara ran after him. Niko pushed open the screen door and rushed inside.

Nathan was sitting on the kitchen chair, his feet resting on the chair next to him. "Hey, bud. How's life treating ya?" He stood up, holding out his hands. "Come on."

Niko ran forward.

Nathan picked him up, swinging him around in a circle and gave him a hug.

Niko smiled. "I missed you."

"Sure you did." Nathan gave a coy smirk. "Not as much as you'll miss having your room to yourself." He lifted a mug off of the table and took a sip of coffee.

Nathan looked up and for the first time seem to realize Chara was there, too.

"Hey, Chara." Nathan said. "You two staying out of trouble?"

Chara looked down, nodding.

"Forgot how shy you could be sometimes, geez." Niko's brother shook his head. "Either way, since you're both here, want to have another lesson? I'll bet y'all are so rusty you can't shoot a can five feet away."

"Five feet? _I'm_ taller than that." Niko grinned.

"No you're not. You're barely four feet, shorty." Nathan laughed. "But you're just in fourth grade, you've got plenty of time." He took another sip of his coffee. "Just give me a sec to set up. Okay?"

* * *

Nathan held the gun at ready, aiming at the farthest of the cans. He stood motionless. Clink! The can flew backwards into the weeds. "You need a recap on how this works or nah?" Nathan crossed his arms, waiting for a reply. Both Chara and Niko shook their heads. He gave it over to Chara. "Guest goes first."

Chara took it. He aimed as best as he could at a can some fifteen feet away from him. Boom! The shot went too high and to the right.

Chara saw Niko flinch at the noise. "You okay?"

Niko nodded his head. "It just surprised me."

Chara tried again. It took another seven shots before he hit the can.

Nathan had a grin on his face. "Not bad, Chara." He turned to Niko. "Your turn."

"My turn?" Niko said, his voice suddenly unsure.

"Come on." Nathan encouraged. "No need to be worried. You both were experts last fall. You don't forget something that quickly."

Niko nodded, bringing the gun up and aiming it. He missed. His arm jerked back from the recoil, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the gun. He looked at his brother bashfully, offering the gun back to him.

"Well, if you're not feeling up to it then I guess we can try it again tomorrow," Nathan said.

Niko shook his head, his eyes glimmering with determination. "I want to try again." He took his time before he shot, the can falling over. He had at least nicked the side of it. Niko grinned and looked up at his brother.

"That was good." Nathan grabbed the gun from him and walked down towards the cans. "Think you can hit it if I set it a tad farther away?"

Niko shrugged.

"Here." Nathan returned, giving the gun back.

Niko looked at it uneasily. He shot and missed. The second time, the can went flying.

"Nice, Niko." His brother praised. He pointed at a crow hanging out on one of the bottom branches of a tree a few yards away. "It's technically season for crows now. Not that anybody would care much anyway, out in the middle of nowhere. Shoot it."

"What?" Niko sounded surprised.

"Yeah, you've been doing this for how long? It's time to shoot something real."

Niko bit his lip. "But, the animal…"

"Come on, just try," his brother pushed.

Niko lined the shot up. He was still for a few seconds before he lowered it, his eyes shiny. "B-but, the animal-"

"There's obviously something wrong with it, or else it would have been long gone by now. We're doing it a favor. Stop being such a crybaby."

Niko shook his head.

Nathan sighed, seeming to give in. "Alright, then." He held his hand out. "Here." He took the gun from Niko. He widened his stance, bringing the gun up to eye level.

Niko pulled on his sleeve. "But the animal didn't do anything wrong!"

The crow heard his outburst and flew into the air. Nathan lined up the shot. Chara looked away, waiting for the boom. Nathan was good. He wouldn't miss. No chance. But, after a moment, Nathan lowered the gun. "That dumb bird's won this one."

Chara looked up.

Nathan started to clean everything up. "We're done. It's a bad sign. Anything about that mountain is."

"What?" Chara found his voice.

"Mt. Ebott," Nathan said. "It was flying straight to Mt. Ebott."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Also, you should totally binge read Zombietale. It's a comic on Tumblr. See you in two weeks!


	13. Chapter 13

Chara and the Dreemurrs stood on the balcony that overlooked Home. An excited buzz filled the cavern. A crowd of monsters had gathered below, waiting for Asgore to speak. Chara propped their elbows against the stone ledge and snuck a look over the edge, keeping their head low. Asgore had arranged a formal meeting with the citizens of Home to talk about expanding into Snowland. Chara saw a monster look up and ducked behind the stone parapet. Today, Asgore was also going to introduce them to the rest of the town.

A week had already passed since Toriel and Asgore had talked to them about staying. Asgore had asked them if holding the meeting in a week would be okay. He had said that he understood if they wanted to wait longer, but they had said it was okay. At the time, it didn't seem so bad. They would have an entire week beforehand.

A week? Chara frowned. That didn't seem like nearly enough time anymore. A hand rested on their shoulder. They could feel the faint imprint of claws grazing their skin, even through their sweater. They turned, expecting Toriel or Asriel.

"Chara, how are you doing?" Asgore's voice was kind.

They pulled away.

"Monsters are very kind." Asgore's hand dropped to his side. "There is no reason to be nervous, young one." He smiled, waiting for a response.

They scuffed their shoe against the ground. "I won't have to say anything, right?"

"I promise. You will not need to say a word."

They looked at their feet. "Okay."

Asgore nodded, giving them one last look before turning to face the crowd. Asgore held up a hand, waiting a few seconds for the crowd to go silent before starting. "Good afternoon. As the majority of you are aware, there is a human living here among us."

The monsters below exploded in chatter.

Chara peeked over the ledge, watching their reactions. They were too high to read the expressions on the monster's faces, but no one was shouting in outrage or stomping through the streets. They figured that this news was no surprise to most of the monsters. Their walks through town had led to meeting a bunch of them.

"A couple of weeks ago, a human fell here. Alone and injured, they were found by my son. This one was just a child, badly hurt. They needed help, so my wife and I took them in and cared for them."

A few monsters pointed at Chara. They looked away.

Asgore turned to them, gesturing a hand in their direction. "This is Chara."

The monsters' voices grew louder. All of the monsters were now looking at them. Chara waved sheepishly.

Asgore chuckled at Chara and continued, but his voice was serious. "Please, your attention." He held up his hand, quieting them.

"For generations, we have lived in fear of human attacks. What Chara has shown us, however, is that humankind can change. Humankind _has_ changed. No longer should we live in fear. For a while now, our royal scientist Dr. Gaster has been suggesting we move from this town. He has been designing the infrastructure's layout for years: Paths, bridges, and towns. At this moment, he is working on building a machine capable of lighting the entire underground. Fear has kept us rooted to this place. No longer should that be the case. There is so much more of the underground that we can live in. I propose the building of a path from here all the way to the barrier. From there we can build houses and towns. Work on expanding will start tomorrow."

The hush of voices got louder and more excited. One monster started clapping, an action that was quickly spread to the other monsters. In the cavern, the clapping sounded like thunder.

Asgore waited for the noise to abate before continuing. "Monsters are to meet in the town square tomorrow morning, where our chief building experts will be discussing jobs." He nodded to the crowd. "Thank you." He stepped back, ending his speech.

Chara looked at Asriel. He was sitting on the ground, back propped against the wall, a bored expression on his face. "Hey, dad." Asriel tilted his head to the side, looking up at Asgore. "Can Chara and I help out, too?"

Asgore frowned, bringing a hand to his chin. "Hm. I do not know what you would be able to help out with."

"We'll find something to do, right, Chara?" Asriel looked up at them.

After standing up in front of all those monsters, Chara just wanted to go back to the house, but Asriel expression was easy to read. His eyes were large and pleading, his ears perked, his excitement radiating off him as bright and warm as the sun.

"Yeah. That would be cool," they found themself saying.

"I do not know if that is a good idea," Toriel spoke up. "We would not want you two getting in any mischief, would we?"

"But _mom_."

"We'll be good," Chara relented. Asriel's grin made it worth it. "We promise."

Toriel sighed. "I suppose it would not hurt as long as Asgore or I keep an eye on you."

"Yay!" Asriel gave her a hug.

* * *

Chara and Asriel played in Snowland, staying out of the way of the working monsters. The monsters had a lot of work to do, hauling away fallen trees and branches. The idea was to start by building a path all the way from Home to the end of Snowland. Once there, the water monster teams could start working on Waterland. Chara and Asriel mostly stood around, finding ways to amuse themselves while the other monsters worked.

Chara looked at a patch of fresh snow, and an idea popped into their head. They walked to the center of the untouched snow and laid onto their back, swinging their arms and legs against the snow. They grinned at Asriel's confused expression.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Chara stood up, brushing the snow off on their back and stepped away carefully. "That's a snow angel."

"Oh, cool." Asriel's ears perked. "I wanna make one."

"Well, they aren't hard," Chara said. "First you need to find a clear patch of snow and lie down." Chara heard a thud. Asriel was lying in the snow beside them headfirst.

"Okay." Asriel's words were muffled. "What now?"

"Well... Chara covered their mouth with a hand to hold back laughter. "Usually, I don't make snow angels head first, but…" They shook their head, grinning. "It looks good. Now you just make your arms and legs go back and forth."

Asriel lifted his arms.

"Not like that. Your arms push the snow away to make little wings," Chara said.

"I knew that," Asriel claimed and finished his snow angel. "I just...couldn't see my arms." He stood and peered at his creation. He gasped. "I did it, Chara. See?" He pointed proudly at the snow. "Look at that! It's me! In snow!"

Chara grinned. "That's great, Asriel. There's just one problem."

"What?"

"There's snow all over your face."

Asriel wrinkled his nose. He wiped the fur on his face. "What? No, there's not-" A snowball hit him square on the face.

Chara cackled with laughter as Asriel's face contorted. He blinked in confusion as a piece of ice fell off his bottom lip. He brushed off his fur, peering at Chara. Chara hid their snow covered mitten behind their back. Asriel lifted his eyes toward them.

"Heh, heh…" Chara's laughter faded away. "Asriel?"

Asriel's bottom lip trembled. "Ch-Chara?"

Chara felt their face flush. They felt the last stray chunks of snow fall from their glove. They hadn't meant to hurt him. Had they really thrown the snowball that hard? Was he upset? What had they been thinking, messing with him like that to begin with?

Chara stuttered a response. "It wasn't-I don't know who-" They felt their heart race. "I wasn't trying to-" A shocking cold sensation shook them from their daze. Chara spit a chunk of snow out of their mouth.

Asriel doubled over with laughter, falling into his snow angel. "You got poffed! There's snow on _your_ face now!" He rolled in the snow, gasping for breaths in between his laughter. "Your-your face!" He broke off in a fit of laughter again.

Chara felt their heartbeat begin to slow down. They wiped the snow out of their eyes. Something about the smell of evergreen and Asriel's perpetual glee was calming. They smiled and kneeled down in the snow. "Oh yeah? You think _I_ got poffed?" They slipped their coat off. They draped it over the snow and began scooping large handfuls of snow onto it, filling it with snow. "Wait until you get a load of this!" They picked up their coat.

Asriel gasped. He tried to scoot away. "Chara, no, don't-oomph!" He fell back into the snow. Chara giggled, kneeling over him with the coat smothering his face. Asriel squirmed, trying to get away. His erratic movements sent both of them falling into the snow. They erupted with laughter.

"Chara!" Their jacket was pushed into their face, snow flinging into their eyes and hair. Chara was pushed backwards. Asriel grabbed their jacket and held it over their head triumphantly.

Chara's stomach ached, and their eyes watered from laughter, the tears freezing to their face. They hadn't cried happy tears for a long time. Lately when they'd cried, it had been from-

Their laughter ceased. They felt guilt explode inside them, squeezing their muscles and heart. They shouldn't be laughing. They shouldn't be happy. They shouldn't be _alive_. They didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to-

"Chara?" Asriel asked. Chara startled. They hadn't noticed the concern creep into his voice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course." They wiped the frozen tears off of their face. "You're just squishing me." They squirmed under Asriel's weight.

"Oh, sorry." Asriel rolled off of them, sending snowflakes dancing into the air. It didn't look beautiful this time. The snow had now taken on a sharp and frigid gleam. It was a reminder of how cold and uncaring the world could be. Chara was suddenly hit with memories of almost freezing out in the woods days earlier. Chara stood up, ignoring Asriel's hand. Asriel didn't notice.

Asriel shook his head, sending snow flying off of his ears. "Brr. That's cold. What do you want to do now?" He brushed the snow off of his clothes. "Oh, I know. We can build a snowmonster!"

"Okay." Chara agreed, barely listening. They pulled their coat back on, shoving their hands deep into their pockets. They stomped their feet, trying to put some feeling back into their toes. Enjoying their time suddenly felt wrong. _She_ didn't get to enjoy anything anymore.

"Chara, I'm done."

Chara looked over at Asriel. Two fist sized ovals of snow had been stacked on top of each other. The balls teetered precariously.

"Good job," Chara said halfheartedly. They brushed their hair out of their face, trying to come up with an excuse to go back to Home. "I'm kind of cold," they started. "Why don't we-"

"How about we make another one?" Asriel said excitedly. "Then we can make the snowmonster even _bigger_!"

Chara sighed. They bit their half frozen lip. "How big?"

Asriel's eyes grew wider. "Giant! Enormous! _Ginormous!_ Snowy will be the biggest snowmonster in Snowland -no- In the entire Underground!"

Chara smiled despite themself. Something about the sparkle in Asriel's eyes was familiar. It was a kind of happiness that Chara hadn't seen in a long time. It reminded Chara of innocence. It reminded Chara of Ben. Chara felt a wave of sadness wash over them. Asriel didn't notice.

"What do you think, Chara?" Asriel said, but suddenly it was Ben's voice that they were hearing again. It was Ben from a better time. "How big should we make it?"

Chara felt a rush of determination. They wanted more than anything to see Ben smile one last time. "As big as we can."

Chara and Asriel rolled up three snowballs until they were knee height. Working together, they were able to stack them one on top of another, making a snowmonster about as tall as they were.

"Wait!" Asriel ran under a tree, kicking around in the snow. "Here!" He came back with a handful of sticks. He was able to give the snowman arms and a stick nose. Chara hollowed out two circle for the eyes and drew a sloppy smiley face.

Chara took a step back, admiring their creation. "Nice. How about we head inside?"

Their fingers were starting to feel cold. Most of Asriel's clothes had fit them, but none of the mittens worked well. Monster hands were a lot bigger than theirs, so Asriel's were too loose. Snow had seeped through the small pockets of dangling fabric, leaving their hands numb and frostbitten.

"Yeah," Asriel said. His face lit up. "Then we can get hot chocolate."

The two of them stomped through the woods and down the stairs. Over the past week, Chara and Asriel had become used to seeing random monsters passing through the house to get outside. This time was no different. Asriel waved to the few monsters they passed while making their way inside.

"Howdy, mom," Asriel said as they stepped into the warm house.

Toriel was sitting on the armchair. She set the book she was reading onto the fireplace mantle. "How was your time in Snowland?"

"Fun, but cold," Asriel said. He shook his head, sending bits of half melted snow flying out of his fur. "Can we have hot chocolate?"

"Of course you _may_." Toriel nodded. "I will make you some so that you do not burn your fingers." She walked over to the kitchen.

"Thanks, mom." Asriel hopped onto the couch.

"Asriel, get off that right now!" Toriel's voice sounded from around the corner. "If you want to be on the furniture, first change out of your winter gear. It is all wet."

Asriel looked down at his snow pants and boots. Big puddles of dirty water were forming under them. "Oops." Asriel and Chara scampered to change.

Soon they were all sitting at the table, sipping hot chocolate.

"Oh, Chara, I have something for you." Toriel rushed back into her room and returned, holding a small wrapped package. "I hope that you like the colors I picked out." She handed the present to Chara.

Chara grinned, "You didn't have to get me anything." They claimed even as they began unwrapping the gift. The wrapping paper was a dull yellow color. They peeled the tape off of a side of the package, getting to the present without tearing the paper.

They reached inside and pulled out a pair of beautifully knit mittens. "Oh." The mittens were purple with thin yellow stripes around their wrist. They were soft and fluffy. Chara put them on, warmth quickly spreading to their fingertips.

"They were made just for you," Toriel said.

"You _made_ them?"

Toriel nodded. "I do a little bit of knitting. Do you like those colors? I probably should have asked beforehand but I so badly wanted it to be a surprise."

"They're really cool...Thanks." Chara smiled.

"In that case, I will be making a hat for you with the leftover half skein of yarn. Is that okay with you?"

"You really don't have to."

Toriel grabbed their empty mugs. "It is no problem, Chara. I just want to ensure that you stay warm if you and Asriel will be out playing in the snow so often."

* * *

"Chara, there's another stick over there!" Asriel nodded toward the ground, sticks threatening to fall from his arms.

Chara looked down, grabbing the twig that lay on the ground, half obscured by snow. They added this to the pile they were carrying.

"There's a bunch over here!" Asriel clonked through the snow to a tree stump and grabbed more sticks off of the ground, not noticing that sticks were slipping from his pile just as quick.

Chara just watched him with a grin. By the time he got all the way around the tree trunk, there was a fresh layer of twigs and sticks. "Chara! Where do these keep coming from?"

Chara snickered. "Asriel, you're arms are full. We should drop these off." They started to walk down the path, towards the big pile of wood at the edge of where the town was being built.

After Asgore and some of the other strong monsters cleared away the trees and other obstacles, smaller monsters would follow behind, picking up the stuff they missed. It was Asriel's idea to help them, figuring that they would need a lot of wood to build an entire town.

Chara looked back. "You coming?"

Asriel lagged behind, stopping every few paces to pick up the sticks that fell from his pile. "Yep."

"You should just take what you can."

"I can do this!" Asriel skipped to catch up. They walked down the half made path, weaving through branches and around log stumps. The logs were to be eventually brought up farther east to be converted into houses. For now, they were gathered in a giant stack near where the monsters planned to build their town. Every day the stack grew taller, and the road grew longer.

The monsters in the town were rushing even more than usual. It had begun to snow harder. Chara and Asriel added their sticks to the log stack.

Asriel looked at Chara. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Chara looked around. Already, there were fewer monsters around, the ones that remained outside were walking towards one of the mostly finished houses.

Asgore came around the corner and towards the nearest house. He spotted them and gestured to come over.

"Hi, dad!" Asriel ran down the street to him.

"Howdy, you two," Asgore paused. "What are you doing here, children? You were supposed to stay near the doors to Home."

Asriel beamed, standing up a little straighter. "We were being delivery monsters...err-" he looked at Chara, "delivery kids." He grinned.

"Sorry." Chara looked away.

"No, it is fine." Asgore led them inside. "A snowstorm has sprung up. Monsters are taking shelter as to not end up getting lost. It will only last half an hour or so."

"How does weather work underground?" Chara asked.

"In Waterland, there is a lot of water. Some of the water that gets stirred up from the waterfalls ends up being blown to Snowland and turns into snow. When too much water blows in and freezes all at once, it makes a snow storm."

There was no wind chill, but it was still cold now that they had stopped moving. Chara crossed their arms together. The house hadn't been completed. It had four walls and a ceiling, but no furnace or other heating source. Asgore looked over and saw them shaking. With a flick of his wrist, a small flame appeared in his hand. The entire building was heated in far less time than Chara expected.

"We can wait for the worst of the storm to pass before returning home," Asgore said.

Chara looked out window and was immediately glad that they weren't stuck out there.

 _Yeah, instead I am stuck down here._

Chara frowned, trying to push the thought from their head, but it stubbornly remained. Only a half hour later, the snowing had all but stopped.

"It's time to go." Asgore turned the doorknob to leave. Nothing happened. "What?" He pushed harder. Nothing happened. "I have come up with a fitting name for a place like this: Snowy Town."

There was a moment of silence. Chara looked out the window to see the foot of snow that had built up around the house, keeping them stuck. "I think I have another idea."

Asgore turned to them, "Pray tell."

Chara smiled. "How about... Snowdin." They attempted to open the door, the snow blocking it from opening. "Snowed. In. Get it?"

Asgore roared with laughter. "Of course, Chara. That is quite clever, I must admit."

Chara felt their cheeks flush.

Asgore pulled the door off of its hinges to create a way for all of them to get out. "Yes, I will mention it to Toriel."

"Yeah, mom loves puns," Asriel said.

Chara's face lifted up into a mischievous smirk, "In that case."

"What?" Asriel grabbed Chara's sleeve. "What-what-what-what?"

"Well, I know that you _goat_ to know, but I _kid_ you not, it's nothing special." They grinned and walked out of the building. From somewhere behind them, they heard Asriel groan.

"Chara!"

* * *

Toriel loved Chara's idea. Snowdin it was. Chara racked their brain for something clever to name the other places, but so far nothing had come to mind.

Toriel had started organizing groups to journey past the newly named Snowdin and start working their way through Waterland.

Chara frowned at that name, telling themself that they would be able to come up with a better name soon, once they got another good look at it.

Toriel and Asgore had declined Chara and Asriel from venturing into Waterland as of yet. "Until a safe trail is made, it is just too dangerous." Toriel ruffled the fur on Asriel's head, instigating a whine.

"Mom!"

Toriel smiled and shook her head, smoothing down the fur behind Asriel's ear. "I don't want anything to happen to you two."

* * *

Thanks again for reading. Guess what everyone: I survived school! Now it's summer so expect weekly updates. This week check out Underline on Tumblr. It's a great comic that has updated daily for over a year. It focuses on Chara in the Underground. Honestly, it is adorable. Welp, that's all for now. See you all next week!


	14. Chapter 14

Chara and Asriel were sitting on the steps outside the Dreemurr's front door. A step below them was a puppy. Earlier, they had heard Toriel talking with a dog monster. The dog was apologizing, she wasn't able to work that day because her kid's babysitter had the flu. Asriel had jumped in, offering to take care of the puppy, and Toriel had agreed to give it a try.

"Why is Sammy so soft?" Asriel asked.

Chara scratched Sammy, behind the ear, their fingers sinking a few inches into his long, white fur. "Because his fur's so thick?"

The pup yawned. His white canines glimmered in the cave light. He curled up, tucking his head against his side and beneath his tail like an arctic fox.

If they lost him in Snowdin, they would've had a problem. Even on his hind legs, the puppy only came up to Chara's knee. He was so small, he would blend right into the snow.

Asriel stroked Sammy again and then his own arm. He frowned. "I'm not that soft!"

"Your fur's not as thick as his," Chara said.

Sammy rolled onto his side, spreading his body on the cool stone floor.

He must get really hot in Home. After all, he had fur thick enough to serve as a winter jacket. Chara had overheard Toriel and the dog's mom talking. Most of the dog monsters were going to move to Snowdin. Chara had the impression that Sammy would really enjoy it there.

They scratched the back of his neck, recalling their first encounter with Sammy's mom. They smirked. She was the same dog that had found them in Snowdin. She had apologized for being short with them, it had been really late and Sammy had already woken her up from a nightmare. Chara figured that they deserved the sass that had been thrown at them. They would have gotten way more upset if it was them in her shoes-

Paws?

Asriel hopped to his feet.

Sammy looked up, his ears perked up playfully. "Ruff!" He bolted over to Asriel and jumped against his side.

"Hey!" Asriel giggled. He took a step away from the Sammy.

Sammy jumped again, licking Asriel across the face.

"Eww!" Asriel squealed and ran down the hall, Sammy on his heels.

Chara had their head resting on their hand, their palm effectively covering their grin.

At the end of the hall, Asriel wheeled around. The puppy tried to turn, too, but he turned too sharp and his momentum sent him crashing to the ground. He was only down for a second before the puppy-playing instincts came back to him and he jumped to his feet with renewed enthusiasm.

"Ruff!" The pup ran back to Asriel, his fluffy tail flicking back and forth like a little mini helicopter.

"Heh-heh." Asriel giggled and tried to run away, but Sammy had caught up. The dog danced around him, weaving between his legs.

"Woah!" Asriel tripped over Sammy and fell over..

Sammy jumped onto Asriel's stomach and licked his face.

Asriel giggled, flailing about. "Chara, help me!" He begged between giggles

Chara was still sitting on the steps, watching passively at the puppy onslaught. They shrugged. "Better plead Sammy for mercy."

"Chara!"

They smirked.

Asriel hovered his hand between Sammy and his face. "Ha, Sammy. Beat that!"

After a minute of failed attempts, the pup seemed to lose interest. He yawned, stepped off of him, and curled up next to his shoulder.

"It's about time you stopped bein' so _crazy_!" Asriel clasped his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling. "I was starting to think that-"

Sammy grabbed the end of Asriel's ear and growled, shaking it around like a new chew toy.

"What are you doing?" Asriel turned his head. "Well I guess that's okay as long as...Ouch!" He grabbed his ear and tucked it behind his head. He looked at Chara sheepishly. "His baby teeth are sharper than you'd think." Asriel tried to pet him, but the dog seemed to think that it was the start of another game and ducked away.

"How? Too much. I can't." Asriel slowly sat up.

Sammy stopped a few feet away, his head tilted up innocently.

"Come here, Sammy," Chara said. Sammy glanced at them for a second and looked away. They pretended to grab a treat from behind their back. They held out their hand. "Sammy."

His ears perked and he ran over to them.

Asriel sat up, his expression sour. "Chara, how'd you do that?"

Chara shrugged. "I'm a dog person."

"Not fair!"

Chara stuck out their tongue at Asriel and stroked the dog. Sammy whined and jumped away, his tail waving playfully. "I think Sammy's getting bored."

"We can take him on a walk!" Asriel exclaimed.

Sammy's tail wagged harder. "Ruff!"

"He can understand us?" Chara asked.

Sammy tilted his head.

"He's just a baby," Asriel said. "I don't think he knows more than a few words." He stood and walked down the hall.

The dog raced down the path, his paws going so quick that he kicked up dust.

Chara walked after them. "Which way do you want to go?"

"Ruff!" Sammy scampered left towards the town.

"I guess we're going that way," Asriel said.

Chara saw Sammy getting too far ahead of them and whistled. "Sammy."

Sammy ran back. He was panting, his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

"Good boy," Chara praised, rubbing the back of his head.

Even though it was the middle of the day, the town was almost empty.

"Where is everybody?" Chara asked.

Asriel shrugged. "Snowdin?"

"Oh, right." Chara nodded. Sammy was getting too far away, again. They whistled. "Sammy."

Sammy looked back and started to skip towards them. All of a sudden he stopped, his nose twitching. He turned his head back and forth, his muscles quivering.

"Sammy?" Asriel tried.

"Ruff!" Sammy shot down the street.

"Sammy, come back here!" Chara ordered, their hands coming to the pockets for the spare dog treat that they always carr-

They didn't have any dog treats. They didn't have any pockets.

This wasn't home.

Chara whistled, hoping to get his attention. The dog kept running.

"Sammy!" Asriel ran after him.

Chara ran after both of them.

"Ruff-Ruff!" Sammy had decided that it was a game and turned in a new direction. They passed by different monsters and got a lot of weird looks, but nothing was stopping Sammy.

"Sammy!"

He pulled farther away. They were only able to see the tip of his tail disappear around a new corner as they turned the last one.

"Sammy!" Asriel yelled. "You're going too fast! Slow down!"

A loud, excited bark came from around the corner.

Around the corner, a skeleton monster waved a bone over his head, out of Sammy's reach. Sammy stood on his hind legs, begging. After a few seconds, he tossed the bone into the air. Sammy ran after it, reached the bone, and plopped down, gnawing the end of it.

Asriel tiptoed behind Sammy. He paused for a second and then scooped him up. "I caught him!" Asriel held the squirming puppy in his arms. He lifted Sammy to his eyelevel. "No. You are not allowed to be so crazy. I'm not putting you down until-"

The puppy licked him across the snout.

"Heh-heh. That tickles!" Asriel giggled, shifting Sammy against his chest. He looked at the skeleton. "Thanks."

The skeleton walked over to the bone and grabbed it from the ground. "Don't mention it." He twirled the bone around his fingers. "Guess we're even now, huh?"

"Even?" Chara asked. Their eyebrows furrowed.

"What? You've forgotten me?" His skull stretched into a grin.

Chara looked down, kicking a stone and sending it clattering across the street. "These last few weeks have been really…"

"Stressful? Busy?" He shifted his weight onto his other foot. "Yeah, I figured as much. My name's Sans."

"Sorry," Chara said.

"Don't be." Sans waved their comment away.

"Chara," Asriel said, struggling to keep the puppy from jumping out of his arms. "I think that we should go back home before Sammy gets loose again."

"Okay." They turned.

"Hey." Sans stepped forward. "I can walk with you two back, if ya want. In case the dog decides to bolt again."

"His name's Sammy," Asriel said.

"Sammy, huh?" Sans said, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. "King's house, right?"

"Yep," Asriel said, jumping ahead. "Follow me!"

"Cool," Sans said. He turned to them. "You seem a lot calmer now. Getting used to being down here?"

Chara's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Well, I'm right here," Sans flicked the bone into the air and caught it. He pointed the bone ahead, "and the prince is all the way down there."

They hadn't noticed. They started to walk faster to catch up. They weren't watching were they were going and tripped over a raised slab, falling to their knees.

"They always said how dangerous humans were, but...you don't really look the part." Sans grinned, holding out a hand. "Here."

They narrowed their eyes. They pushed themself back to their feet without his help, feeling a rush of Determination. "Maybe I don't look the part because I'm not like them," they spat out.

Sans held up his hand, his grin disappearing. "I didn't mean anything from it."

Chara flicked their bangs behind their ear.

"I just…" Sans paused.

Chara followed his gaze to their hand. Their palm had gotten skinned when they had fallen. Blood started to trickle out. They pressed their thumb against it, feeling the area throb.

Asriel looked back. "Chara? You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Chara raised an eyebrow at Sans. " _You_ okay?"

"Yeah, it's just-" Sans scratched the back of his neck. "Well, suppose blood is the monsters' equivalent of dust."

"Dust?" Chara echoed.

Sans frowned. "When a monster gets hurt enough to show dust, there isn't anything that you can do."

"Just by falling down?" Chara asked.

Sans clenched his fist. "Falling down."

They heard a giggle and looked up. The puppy had gotten loose and ran in circles around Asriel's feet. "A little help over here," Asriel said, trying to grab him again.

"We should go and help," Sans said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Sammy didn't run away this time, so they let the puppy walk the rest of the way back to the house. Chara sat down. Sammy was still upset about being held for so long. He walked over and sat on Chara's lap, completely ignoring Asriel.

The little dog looked tired. He was still lightly panting from his escape around town. Chara stroked Sammy's head, and his tail wagged.

"Welp, I should be going." Sans said. "Later." He strolled down the hallway and turned around the corner.

"Puppies are really cute!" Asriel said. "They're fuzzy, and fluffy, and sweet, and cute, and little." Asriel counted on his fingers as he went. "And tiny, and fluffy, and soft."

"You said fluffy already," Chara said.

"That's because it's double true!" Asriel said, giving Sammy a scratch behind the ears. The pup scooted away and opened his mouth in a wide yawn.

"Heh, he's still mad," Chara said. Sammy flopped onto his side. They pet his tummy.

"Shh," Asriel said suddenly. "He's sleepy."

Chara raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't even-"

" _Shh_."

Chara looked up at him. "You should take him for a few minutes if you care about his beauty sleep so much. Then you can pet him as much as you want."

"Yeah, I will." Asriel held out his hands.

"But he's sleeping," Chara mocked. "That would wake him up."

Asriel glared at them. "Chara!" He sat down next to them. "There."

Chara lifted the sleepy puppy onto Asriel's lap. The puppy didn't stir. "Okay." They looked down at themself. Their entire pant leg was coated in white fur. "You wouldn't think he still had any fur left over after this." They chuckled, pinching a bit of fur between their fingers and flicking it away. It didn't seem to help much.

 _Lucy only shed like that in the spring._

They looked away, masking their frown with a grin before turning back. They suddenly wanted to be alone.

Asriel leaned against the wall, and his head drooped towards Sammy. Sammy yawned and turned onto his back at Asriel's touch, letting him rub his belly.

"What do you want to do now?" He rubbed his eyes and looked up at them.

They stood up, brushing more hair off of them. "I could check the closet. There's a lot of board games in there."

"Yeah." Asriel pet Sammy. "I'll stay here and keep watch on Sammy."

Chara stood up too fast, stumbling over the first stair. Inside, they clicked the door shut behind them, trying to keep from waking Sammy. They were able to let down their guard. They felt their smile warp into a frown. Their bit their lip, hugging their arms around their chest.

They were such a crybaby.

They waited for a few seconds before turning into their room. They walked over to the board games, shifting through the different brightly colored titles and happy illustrations. And it suddenly felt wrong. Everything, every color, every monster illustration, every word seemed happy. It felt fake. They weren't happy. They didn't know if they would ever be again.

They looked through the games for longer than needed, finally deciding on checkers. They didn't feel up to learning anything new right now. They walked back. Their hand hovered over the doorknob. They didn't want to wake up the puppy. They creaked open the door.

"Asriel, I'm-" Chara stopped.

Asriel's head was tilted back against the wall, his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.

The puppy was a good companion, his head tucked under one paw fast asleep. A light snore escaped from his mouth.

"Heh." Chara shook their head, a grin appearing on their face. "Sleepyheads."

* * *

Chara had made a little Lego airplane, but not just any airplane, a spy plane, sent on a top secret mission to infiltrate the enemy's base. He had even built a Lego house for this. "Vroom!" Chara flew his Lego airplane around in circles, each circle around getting the plane closer to his target.

"Chara, honey." His mother appeared in the doorway, a package of colorful plates under one arm and a stack of cups under the other. "Could you put all of your Legos away? The guests are going to be here soon." His mom sped out of the room on her way to the kitchen

Chara frowned and scooped up the loose Legos scattered all over the floor. "Okay, mom."

Today was Ben's birthday party. Putting the evildoers behind bars would have to wait until tomorrow. He dropped them into the bin, putting the house in the bin last. The airplane was fragile, Chara set it on top of the box so that it wouldn't get squashed. Finished, he walked down the hall to the kitchen.

"How does everything look?" His mom asked, Smoothing down the happy birthday table cloth.

"Mom, it looks fine." Chara grinned.

His mom moved to the living room and dusted off photo frames. Chara followed behind her, lifting himself onto the couch arm to watch.

"Hey, Chara. Could you check on Ben for me? He should be in his room."

Chara walked over to his brother's room and opened the door. Ben's room was painted baby blue. The floor, usually strewn with stuffed animals and half finished coloring sheets, had been vacuumed. Ben was lying on his bed, a giant stuffed bear under his arm, a crayon in his hand. He was scribbling on a coloring sheet.

"Hey, Ben," Chara said. "Your party is going to be starting soon."

"Chara, I drawd a picture!" Ben ran over.

"You _drew_ a picture?" He asked.

Ben held it up for him to see. The picture was a blob of purple scribbles.

"Nice."

Ben hummed happily. The doorbell rang.

"Come on," Chara said and grabbed his hand. "Someone's here." They walked to the front door.

Chara's mom had beat them to the door. "Hey, how are you doing?" His mom smiled. "You can leave your shoes at the door." She pointed around the corner. "Ben, how about you take your friend to the living room to play?"

Ben and his friend ran around the corner.

Chara turned his head to look at the clock. 5:30. "You know when Niko is coming?"

Chara's mom shrugged. "I'm surprised that he's not here yet. Chara, could you wait in the living room so that you can keep an eye on Ben and his friends?"

"Yeah," Chara said. He walked over and plopped down on the couch.

After a few minutes, Ben walked over to his mom. "Can we play outside?" he asked.

"Maybe later." His mom said. "Dad and I have to finish getting ready. I wouldn't feel good unless you guys had someone watching you."

Ben pointed at Chara.

His mom chuckled. "An adult, honey." An alarm sounded from the kitchen. "I need to take the cake out of the oven. Chara, would you keep an eye on the door in case anyone else comes?"

Chara shot her a thumbs up. His mom hurried over to the kitchen. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Chara groaned and stood up. He came to the door and saw Niko. Chara nearly burst out into laughter. Niko was wearing a nice shirt that had been tucked in. Chara opened the door, snickering. "Heh, you look ridiculous."

Niko tugged on his tight collar, his face grumpy. "I know. My parents made me wear this." He frowned. He hauled his backpack off and leaned it against the wall. "Should I put my stuff in your room until after the party?"

"Yeah." Chara said. His mom had allowed them to have a sleepover today on one condition. That they help out with whatever was needed at Ben's party. They walked towards Chara's room, passing by his mom.

"You are looking handsome today." She straightened Niko's collar. "There you go."

Niko walked away, his mouth turned into a scowl. He waited until they had turned into Chara's room behind speaking. "Hand. Some." He articulated each syllable, spitting the word out as if it was venomous.

The party went smoothly.

"Okay, who's ready for cake?" Chara's mom said.

The group of kids ran over to the kitchen in a chorus of 'me!' Chara's mom cut and served the cake. Chara and Niko manned the ice cream station, scooping out ice cream as fast as the kids could eat it. One of Ben's friends, a girl in a long pink dress, had trouble eating the cake. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy braid, but several locks of hair had fallen out. She had to continue flicking pieces behind her ear as she ate.

"Hey, Chara." Niko's voice was quiet. "Did you ever..."

"Ever?" Chara looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Think that..." Niko turned away. "I...never mind."

* * *

Thank you for reading! :) This week you should read Caretaker on Tumblr. Heh, I'm soon going to run out of stuff to recommend, if I keep this up. XD Guess we'll see how long I can go for before that happens.

Just a heads up, in two weeks my family is going to go on vacation. I'll be gone for three weeks. I'll try to get ahead of schedule, but if I can't there may be up to three weeks in a row that I don't update. :/ I'll try not to have that happen, though.

Thank you for reading and see you next week!


	15. Chapter 15

Chara woke up, a small smile clinging to the leftover scraps of a dream. The smile stayed for only a few seconds before the corners of their mouth slacked. What had it been about? They lay still, not willing to let the dream go. Stirring meant waking up. Waking up meant the dream fading altogether. They tried to remember, but already it was a blur. Dreams were fleeting in the morning.

By the time they gave up, they were wide awake. They slid out of bed and stumbled through the darkened room until their hand hit the doorknob. They opened the door and turned down the hall to the living room.

The room was tinted orange by the pale light of the hearth. Embers crackled softly in the fireplace, the flame's reflection dancing on the hearth. Across from the fireplace, Toriel sat in the armchair, a bundle of string and cloth in her lap. She held two knitting needles. With each flick of her wrist, the needles met against each other with a click. Toriel looked up.

"Sorry," Chara said.

It had been reflex. They had disturbed something quiet and peaceful. They approached softly, the wood planks creaking as they sat down at the edge of the hearth.

"No worries, child," Toriel said.

The heat from the fire felt warm on their cheeks. They smiled and curled their legs to their chest. The sappy smell of evergreen was in the air. They closed their eyes, their mind drifting farther and farther away from the room. From the underground. The more time they spent like this, with the warmth, the hiss of the fire, the smell of sap, the hard oak floor beneath them, the more it began to feel like they were somewhere else.

The more they felt like they were home.

Chara's head jolted up and looked around. But their vision came with almond walls, and Toriel sitting on the chair, still knitting. Homesickness dashed through them. They frowned and lowered their head, studying the designs in the wood.

Something bumped against their leg. They looked up. It was Toriel's ball of yarn. Wordlessly, they handed it back.

"Thank you, child." Toriel smiled, though the furrows between her eyes deepened. She clasped her hands together and gazed at Chara, her eyes pierced with worry. "You are up very early."

Chara shrugged and looked away. They twisted their hands in their sweater, as if trying to unravel the knot of pain in their chest. They needed a distraction to stave off the thoughts in their head. They watched the flames twist and snake in the fireplace at pace with the throbbing pain in their clenched fists.

 _The warm fire place back home._

They squeezed the fabric harder.

 _The sound of a wooden door slamming against its frame._

Harder.

 _The smell of pine trees-_

"Child?" Chara jerked their head up. Toriel was crouched behind them, her arm on ther shoulder. Chara hadn't noticed her get out of her chair. Chara fought to breathe through their tight throat.

"Ye-" Chara forced a shaky breath. "Yes?"

Toriel's eyes landed on Chara's hands, twisted in their sweater. She laid her hand on their white fists and slowly uncurled their fingers. Chara felt themself slowly relax as Toriel rubbed out their stiff palms and their tired fingers. She rested Chara's left hand in their lap and picked up their other hand. Chara let out a sigh. They felt tension melting away.

Toriel gently lowered their right hand and smoothed out their crumpled sweater. She frowned at the drop of blood staining the green fabric, but didn't comment on it.

"Now," she said, helping Chara to their feet. "Let us do something else. You are working yourself up into a state, child." Chara lowered their head, but they could still sense Toriel's gaze on them. She was too observant, too good at picking up their feelings. They tried to shift the conversation, masking their shaky breathing with a yawn. Toriel raised their chin. Her eyes scanned Chara's face in concern.

"You do not seem flushed." She pursed her lips. "But you are not acting as if you are well. You really should consider going back to sleep, Chara."

"No." Chara said too quickly. They didn't want to be left alone with their thoughts any longer. "I mean-" They grasped for a distraction. "What's that?"

Toriel followed Chara's finger to her oversized armchair. "My knitting?" She rose to her feet and lifted a mess of yarn off of the cushion. "I was working on your hat." She lightly stroked the stitches. "What do you think?"

Chara could feel the heat of the fire on their cheeks. "It looks great."

They still didn't understand. Why did she bother? She's done so much for them, and for what? Guilt boiled in their stomach. They didn't deserve this.

"Chara?"

Chara lifted their head again. They realized that they'd been asked a question, but they couldn't remember what it was. "What?" they managed.

Toriel's face fell back into an expression of concern. "I asked if you would like something to drink. Are you certain that you are not feverish?"

"No," Chara said. They felt their hands growing clammy again. "I just- can I stay here and watch you?" Their voice came out as a whisper.

Toriel smiled. "Of course, if that is what you would like." She braced a hand against the chair's arm to stand.

"That's okay. I'll come over to you." Chara stood. They stood and grabbed a chair from the dining room table. They set it down next to Toriel and began studying her movements.

Toriel moved with an expert's ease, the stitches blending together. Loop, through, loop, through. The fire crackled in the background. After a few minutes, She looked up. "Do you want to try, Chara?"

"I'd just ruin it."

Toriel chuckled, "Nonsense, knitting is quite easy to learn. Are you sure you do not want to?"

Chara paused, their eyes drifting back to the hat. "I'll try."

Toriel scooted over in the chair. "Come and sit down. It will make it a lot easier to teach you."

Chara hesitated, eyeing the monster. It was better than getting sent back off to bed. They gingerly stepped over. Toriel lifted them onto her lap, placing the half finished hat and ball of yarn onto Chara's lap. "Hold these needles in your hands."

Chara did.

"You will want to keep your palms down." Toriel gently corrected Chara's position. "This finger and your pinkie finger control the tension, or how tight the yarn is."

Toriel helped guide their hands. "First, you will want to put the needle in the loop."

Toriel moved their wrist in a circle, a loop of yarn ending up on their needle. "That is called 'yarn over'. After that, you slide the needle back out."

With Toriel's help, Chara slid the loop of yarn off of the needle.

Toriel clapped her hands. "Just like that! That wasn't too hard now, was it?"

Chara looked down, a small smile appearing on their face. They did a stitch. As fast as their smile came, it disappeared. _They_ didn't do it, Toriel did. "You helped me."

"True, but it is all about practice. A little more experience and soon you will be doing it all by yourself." Toriel beamed. "Now, let us try that again."

Toriel guided Chara's hands through the rest of that row. After that, she let Chara try it by themself. At first, progress was slow. The string kept slipping off of their needle, causing them to pull out as many stitches as they kept. Toriel had to fix Chara's hands a few times. Still, they caught on fast.

"Howdy, Chara."

They looked up. Asriel walked sleepily into the room and collapsed on the faded couch. Chara. snuck a glance at the clock. Nearly an hour had passed since they'd woken up.

Toriel followed their gaze. "Perhaps you should take a break," Toriel suggested, gently lifting their project out of their hands. "It looks like you and Asriel could both use some fresh air." Asriel didn't respond. "Right, Asriel?" she prompted again.

Asriel yawned and sat up. "Okay, mom." He rubbed his eyes. "Wanna go outside, Chara?"

"Okay." Chara slid off of the chair. Pins and needles burned their leg. They staggered a step. "Thank you, Toriel."

"It was no trouble."

The trip up the stairs to Snowdin sounded too tiring today. "Wanna just walk around Home?" Chara suggested. "I haven't seen the center of town yet."

Asriel walked over to the door. "Sure."

They walked to the town. Instead of turning down one of the side streets, Asriel led them straight to the center of Home. Asriel turned around to face them. "Hey, Chara."

"Huh?"

Asriel hopped from foot to foot, his eyes bright. "I just came up with a super-duper idea!" He grinned.

"What?"

"A snowball fight!" Asriel exclaimed. There was a happy bounce in his step. "We can ask mom and dad if it's okay and then we can ask the other monsters in town if they want to join."

"A snowball fight?" Chara shot him a grin. "That's an _ice_ idea."

" _Chara_." Asriel giggled. "That was a pun!"

" _Snow_ kidding," Chara said. A monster a few shops down caught their attention, and they made their way over. They heard Asriel's laughter behind them and smiled.

The monster looked like a bunny, almost as tall as they were. His brown hair was coarse and grayed with age. He was working on a plank of wood on a table. One paw dug into the wood, sending wood chunks all over the table and the ground. His other paw stayed firmly braced against the small of his back. A small pile of wood scraps had accumulated at his feet. The bunny monster grabbed a piece of sandpaper and started to sand down parts of the board.

Asriel ran over. "What's that?"

The bunny monster kept on working.

"Hello?" Asriel waved.

The shopkeeper noticed them for the first time. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and looked up, his eyes narrowed in a glare. "I am working on the sign for the new library. The king is having one built in Snowdin, you see." He shook his head, muttering something under his breath.

"Li-brar-by." Asriel sounded out. He looked at Chara, questioningly.

Chara's eyes narrowed as they scanned the word. It was misspelled. "Sir…"

The rabbit turned to them. "Yes?"

"I think that you _might_ have an extra 'b' in library."

The old rabbit squinted, pressing his glasses closer to his face. "So there is." He frowned. "'Bout time I get me a new prescription." He laughed, his laughter was a shrill cackle, like it was the funniest thing that he'd heard all year.

"Got to make sure I do it right." He tossed the plank that he had been working on under the table and grabbed a new one. "Run along, now," he said. "Don't you see I've got work to do?"

"Okay," Asriel said. He skipped off down the path, getting only a few shops away before stopping. "Hey, Chara."

They ran to catch up. "What is it?"

Asriel's eyes were huge, his gaze fixed on the store in front of him.

The store was small. Through the windows, containers full of different candies and sweets lined the shelves.

Asriel walked forward until his forehead pressed against the glass. His mouth hung open. "Those look _so_ good. Wanna go inside?"

Chara looked inside. There was a monster. Its body was gray and oozed down its body and onto the floor. It turned to them, its entire head consisting on a single giant eye. Chara shook their head. "No thanks."

"That's okay. It's probably not even as good as the ones on the sur-" Asriel stopped. His ears drooped. "Sorry, I meant-"

"No, it's okay," Chara said, their gaze drifting toward the ground.

"Oh." Asriel paused. "Where do you want to go now?"

"Back to the house," Chara said quickly.

At the house, Chara looked around their room for something else to do.

Asriel ran into the room. "I've got something for you." Asriel held out a flower. "Because last time it made you really happy." He handed it to them, a wide grin on his face. "See? It even has a really long stalk. So you can put it in a pot and it can stay nice longer."

"Thanks." They rolled the stalk on their fingers. "Maybe Toriel can get a vase for it?"

His eyes widened. "Yeah." He ran out of their room and turned the corner. "Mom, do you have any vases?"

Chara shook their head and waited for him to come back.

Asriel returned, cradling a vase under both of his arms. "Mom said that we have to be _very_ careful." Asriel set it down gently.

Chara put the flower into the vase.

"It still looks empty, somehow." Asriel tapped his chin. "Oh, I have an idea. We can draw pictures. You could tape yours to the vase later." He ran back out of his room, returning with a piece of paper and a handful of crayons, a wide grin on his face.

Chara shrugged and grabbed a purple crayon from the pile. They started to draw. They didn't know what they were drawing when they started, but soon a dragon had taken shape. They were working on it for awhile and tried as hard as they could, but it just didn't turn out the way they wanted it to.

"Hey, Chara."

They looked up from their drawing. "Yeah?"

"You wanna go to Waterland sometime?" Asriel asked.

Chara shrugged. "Sounds cool."

They paused to look at their drawing. The dragon looked stupid. Instead of the cool, strong beast that Chara had imagined, the dragon was short and chubby. It's wings were lopsided. It's legs were bent at weird angles. _Hers_ would have turned out a lot better. They groaned and crushed it in their fist.

"What are you doing?" Asriel grabbed it away from them. He smoothed the paper. "Hey, this looks really neat!"

Chara frowned. "It's so stupid looking."

"I don't think it looks stupid." Asriel shot them a grin.

"But it _is_." Chara pointed at the dragon's legs. "Don't try to tell me that those _don't_ look like spaghetti noodles." They were quiet for a few seconds.

"I like it anyway." Asriel tried to hand it back to them.

Chara wasn't done sulking. "I don't want it."

Asriel set it on the ground beside him and grabbed his own picture. He held it out for them to see. "I made this one for you."

Their name had been scribbled on the page in messy bubble letters. It was a mismatch of different colors. "It's nice," they said. "I'll tape this to the vase instead."

Asriel ran to grab the tape. Chara cut off pieces of tape and let Asriel tap the picture on. Once finished, Asriel grabbed the vase and turned it in his hands, looking at the picture. "How long are you going to keep the picture on?"

Chara shot Asriel a smile. They smoothed down the tape to make sure that it would stay. "Forever."

* * *

"Hey Chara, I caught one," Niko said. At the edge of Niko's property was a small pond. Niko had seen tadpoles there and now they were starting to turn into frogs. Right now he was perched precariously on the edge of a log, his hands clasped together. He grinned. "Public enemy number one has been caught. I just need the jar."

Chara saw something in the water move and pounced. He opened his hands. No frogs. Chara groaned and shook the water off, wiping his hands on his shorts.

The jar lay on the grass at the edge of the pond. Chara grabbed it and handed it to Niko begrudgingly. "How do you do that?"

Niko slid the frog into the jar. "I don't know." He laughed. "Not the way you're doing it, though."

Chara tried for a while, but he couldn't catch even one. Sweaty and defeated, Chara took shade beneath a tree. "I'm done." Chara said. "Let's go inside."

Niko slid his fifth frog into the jar. "Already?"

Chara grabbed the jar out of his hands and brought it up to his face. "They're cool. We should keep them."

"But we don't know how to take care of frogs." Niko said.

"So?" Chara said. "It can't be _that_ hard."

"Nah," Niko grabbed the jar. "If we're done, let's just put them back."

Chara balked. "But we just spent the last half hour catching them."

Niko gave a faint snicker. "You mean _I_ spent the last half hour catching them."

"Whatever." Chara stood up and started towards the house. "Do what you want with them, I'm going to get some lemonade."

"Wait up!" Niko said. He raced to catch up with him.

They had only been in the kitchen for a moment when the front door flew open. Niko's brother and dad stepped in, ushering tension into the room with them. Chara could feel the bitterness bleeding off of them. He looked at Niko with his eyes raised. Niko shrugged.

Niko's brother blew through the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. "Just forget about it," he muttered, ignoring Chara and Niko. "It's obviously not important to _you_."

Niko's dad rubbed his hand against his temple. "Nathan, just think about this for a while. Maybe the problem is that you haven't met the right girl yet." His tone was even, suggesting that this was just a light conversation, but his eyes glared daggers at Nathan.

Nathan spun around. "Or maybe there isn't a 'right girl'. Huh? You ever thought about that?"

"You're too young to be deciding this right now. That's all I'm saying." He glanced at the children. "Why don't you think about this, and we can have the rest of this conversation later?"

"No, there doesn't need to be a 'later'. I'm old enough to make my own decisions." Nathan said, walking up to him. "Why can't you believe me? I don't _like_ people that way."

"Yeah, right now." his dad said. "By the time you get through college, you'll see things differently."

"You're not listening to me!" Nathan shouted.

Chara flinched.

Nathan stomped down the hall, returning with a book in his hand. "Here." He shoved it into his dad's hands. "If you won't listen to me, at least listen to logic."

His dad scanned the title, his expression growing angrier. "You are my son, you are _not_ like _that_." He tossed the book. It crashed into the wall, landing on the floor, its pages splayed.

Niko grabbed the end of Chara's sleeve. "Maybe we should go back outside," he breathed.

"You know what?" Nathan said, fists clenched. "You don't care enough about me to listen, so maybe I don't care enough to waste my life here." He stomped to the door, kicking the book under the table. He paused with his hand on the metal knob, knuckles white.

"Nathan," his dad warned. "Don't do this. You know there's nowhere else you can go."

"Maybe not. But a fucking park bench is better than this hell." He flung the screen door open and stepped outside.

"Don't walk out on me." His dad caught the door before it swung back into place and followed him outside. The door slammed shut and the yelling grew fainter.

Chara shot Niko a questioning look.

Niko looked at the book splayed under the table. He crouched, his head turning back to the door for a moment, before grabbing the book and darting down the hall to his room.

Chara followed him. "What's that?"

Niko pushed the book under his bed. "It's not important. Let's go outside."

Chara studied Niko. He wouldn't meet his eyes. Chara shrugged. "I guess."

* * *

Howdy, how y'all doing? You should check out Hiimtryingtounderfell on Tumblr this week. :) See you next week and then I start my three week vacation! :D :D :D


	16. Chapter 16

Chara rolled a few matchbox cars through the grass, the sunlit ground warm underneath him. The grass in his backyard hadn't been mowed in a couple of weeks and tickled his legs. It grew so tall that it was like a jungle for the cars to navigate through. He flicked the bottom of a car, sending it spinning for a few inches before tangling in the grass. Earlier he had been kicking a soccer ball around with Niko, but he had gone home. His parents didn't want him walking home after dark.

Chara's village lay in the mountain's shadow. Once the sun slipped behind the mountain, Chara knew that night wasn't far behind. Free from the sun's light, the shadows spread. Chara curled his hand around a car and tossed it a few feet away. It bounced into the weeds.

A few clouds at the end of Chara's sight were painted a dull purple from the sunset. Through the trees at the edges of the mountain, Chara could see the outline of pink fading into a warm yellow. He never got to see the full sunset. The mountain hide most of it. He gazed up, wondering what the view was like from the top. There he would be able to watch the sun sink until it finally slipped beneath the horizon line.

The door to the back of their house squeaked open.

"Chara." His mother stood on the deck, her headphones hanging loosely around her neck. "It's getting late, you should come in." Even though it wasn't too late yet, her voice had a nervous edge to it.

"Okay, mom." Chara grabbed the cars and stood, stepping across the lawn to retrieve the last car.

"Chara, what are you doing?" His mother's voice rose a pitch.

Chara pinched his toes together, the warm, sunny grass had already started to feel cold. "Just grabbing my toys." Chara said, his tone portraying more annoyance than intended. He grabbed his car and walked inside. "Think that me and Niko could set up a tent in the backyard some time?"

"Well, why can't you just do that at Niko's?" Chara's mom asked.

Chara shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought it would be cooler here."

He neglected to tell his mom why. It was because of the monsters. It had been Niko's idea. They would set up their tents and wait for the monsters to come. Everyone knew that the monster roamed farther down the mountain at night. Night would be the best time to see one. Niko volunteered to bring along his video camera. He said that definite proof of monsters would make them millionaires.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," his mom said.

"Why does it matter?" Chara groaned. "Is it because of the _monsters_?" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"It's not the monsters, or the mountain."

"Then what is it?"

"Stray dogs, coyotes, wolves. It's just not safe after dark." Chara's mom frowned and twisted the doorknob, ensuring that it was locked.

"Which would be different at Niko's house, why?" Chara was annoyed. "And if that's the reason, why can't I go on the mountain during the day?"

"Chara, please," she said. "It is not something to sass about."

"But _mom_." He couldn't stop a whine from entering his tone. "Has anyone even seen any monsters?"

Her eyes furrowed. "I'm not sure."

"Well, do _you_ believe there are monsters?"

She paused. "I think that in every rumor, no matter how outlandish it may seem, had to originate from somewhere. Whether there are _monsters_ , I'm not sure, but it is very clear that something up on that mountain is...off... Maybe monsters _are_ real. Maybe not." She sighed. "Or maybe it is just a place were terrible things have happened."

She smiled and grabbed a pile of freshly folded laundry. "Either way, you are not to stay outside past dark, all right?" She handed the pile to Chara.

"But mom." Chara groaned. "Why?" He knew that it was childish of him, but he glowered and looked down, arms crossed.

"Look at me." Her voice was gentle. Her hand rested on Chara's chin and lifted his head until his eyes were level with hers. "I have to say no."

Chara pulled away. "But I _promise_ we'll be good-"

"Even if it makes you mad, the answer's still no." His mom flicked a strand of hair behind Chara's ear. "I love you, Chara. I don't want any harm to come to you."

* * *

Snow flurries twirled down from the ceiling, covering the clearing with a fresh coat of snow. As Chara looked up, a snowflake flew into their eye. Their face scrunched up at the cold, and they rubbed it away with a flick of their hand.

Asriel opened his mouth wide open and stuck his tongue out, waiting for snow to fall onto it.

Chara laughed. He looked silly.

They had asked Asgore about having a snowball fight, and he thought it was a good idea. Even though his help was required building Snowdin and he couldn't come, Asgore helped them spread the word, making the snowball fight more like an event than just a fun get together. Nearly two dozen monsters had shown up.

Not wanting anyone to get hurt, he had found a spot that they could play without getting in the way of the working monsters. They were in the valley, below where the town was going to be. They had found a spot a little closer to Waterland. The snow there was just starting to thaw. It was the perfect temperature for making snowballs.

Snow continued its sleepy fall, dusting their shoulders with flakes of white. Cold bit their feet. They shifted their weight from one foot to another. The game should have started already. The last few stragglers made their way into the clearing.

"Everybody ready to start?" Asriel asked.

Monsters looked at each other, unsure of how to start. Chara smirked. They could fix that. They grabbed a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball. They aimed it at Asriel.

Snow splattered across the center of Asriel's stomach.

"Wah!" Asriel jumped back, slipping on the slick snow and falling over. He looked up at them from the ground, his eyes wide. " _Chara_ ," he whined.

Chara smiled. They offered a hand and helped Asriel to his feet.

Asriel brushed the snow off his clothes. His lips jutted out, pouting. That only lasted a moment before his expression turned into a grin, unable to suppress a giggle. "Heh. You got me."

Snow crashed into Chara's back.

Chara looked back, trying to figure out who had done it. They made two snowballs and launched them at the nearest monsters. The group scattered. The game had begun.

Chara tossed the other snowball, grinning as the snow hit a monster that was trying to run away. They turned just in time to see Asriel throw a snowball at them. They ducked. Snow flew over their head. "Got to be a tad more sneaky than that." They held up their own snowball, posed to shoot.

Asriel squealed and scampered away. He stepped clumsily through the snow, tripping over his feet, and almost falling over again.

Chara watched him run away, letting their hand fall back to their side. "I could _so_ hit you right now." They grinned.

But they would be nice. He at least deserved a chance.

Monsters were starting to come back to the clearing, snowballs in their hands. Chara retreated, running away into the forest. A safe distance away, they ducked behind a tree and crouched to make more snowballs.

Snow thudded against their winter jacket, sending cold snow down the back of their neck. They turned around.

"Ha-ha," Asriel exclaimed. "Sneaky enough now?"

They threw a snowball. Asriel yelped, covering his head. The snowball crashed against his forearm.

Chara's back stung from the cold. They rolled their shoulders back, trying to dislodge the snow. The snow sank deeper, already almost completely melted. Chara took off their mitten and wiped off what was now just cold water.

They looked back. Asriel was gone. "Urg." They scooped up snow to make another snowball.

A bear monster tried to hit them, and Chara jumped to the side, the snow whizzing by their face. " _Bear_ -ly dodged that one." They grinned.

"Hoi!" A Temmie ran towards them, a snowball between its teeth. It swung its head and threw the snowball. The snow travelled only a few inches.

Chara flung a snowball at them, the snow flying past the Temmie's head and smashing into the ground. Chara sprinted away before it could retaliate. The Temmie ran after them. They kept running, pausing long enough to grab more snow. They crunched it into a ball and turned, shooting it at the Temmie.

At once, the Temmie's gray fur was strewn with white. "Cold!" Temmie yelped and shook his head.

Chara laughed and bent down to grab some more. A snowball crashed against their shoulder, snow ricocheting into their face. They were instantly on the defensive, pressing themself against a tree as they spat snow out of their mouth and looked around for the monster that had done it. They saw three monsters ahead, but none of them looked at Chara. The monsters were all focused on hitting each other.

Another snowball hit them, this time square on the face. Chara ran away, not knowing where it was coming from.

They heard Asriel snicker. They looked up.

Asriel was in a tree. He threw his last snowball at them, which they easily dodged. "Heh," he giggled.

Chara bent down and got another snowball ready.

Asriel's smug grin melted away. "Oh no, I'm trapped!" He started to climb down the tree.

Chara snickered and threw their snowball. Asriel yelped, but wasn't able to dodge. They threw more, each hitting him on his jacket until it had begun to look more white than green.

Finally down, Asriel bolted away down the hill, his hands covering his face.

"Asriel!" Chara chased him. "Get back here!"

They ran down the hill, the brush and branches on the ground causing Asriel to stumble. Chara was catching up. The ground was strewn with shadows. The light from the crystals on the cave ceiling struggled to reach there. It grew dark faster, too fast. Their eyes didn't have time to adjust. They ran blindly after him, not willing to let Asriel get away so easily. They could see through the trees that the ground would soon level off, giving Asriel the advantage.

Chara put on a burst of speed and grabbed Asriel by the shoulder, stuffing snow down his back.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Asriel squirmed. "It's cold!" He tried to get the snow out. "Chara!" He grabbed their arm.

Chara twisted out of his grip and ran down the hill. All at once, the ground leveled off. They had entered a clearing of some sort. The snow crinkled and cracked under their feet.

They turned back. Asriel was still digging snow out of his jacket. They grinned and continued to run.

The snow underfoot was loud, too loud. There weren't any trees here. They heard the quiet drone of rushing water from somewhere nearby. Something was weird.

Crack! The ground beneath their feet gave out, and they fell.

"Chara!"

The icy water hit them like a punch to the face, knocking the air out of their lungs. They gave a startled gasp, gagging on water.

There was a rush of fear. Their arms and legs flailed, searching for the surface, air. The cold was already making them confused. What was up? What was down?

They opened their eyes. Their skull erupted in pain, the cold flashing red across their vision. They couldn't see a thing. Chara reached out blindly. Their hand hit something solid: Ice.

They couldn't breathe. Their nails raked the ice frantically, feeling along for the break. Their lungs were on fire. All they felt was solid ice. Their arms and legs felt heavy. In one last struggle, they pounded on the ice, trying to get through.

They didn't want to die.

They coughed and choked on the water. They tried to raise their arm to try one more time, but it moved sluggishly, useless. They couldn't feel anything. Their eyes slipped shut. At least they didn't feel cold anymore.

There was a sudden sound. A thud. A splash. But it didn't matter. It was too far away.

* * *

Thank you for reading! You should look at "Undertale Reset" on Deviantart by "oennarts". It's a choose your own adventure story. (So cool!) I'm going on a vacation for the next three weeks so the next update will probably be on the 23rd. (We are getting back on the 23rd. If I'm dead tired and fall asleep then it might be sometime in the morning of the 24th. xD)

Honestly, I did not intentionally have a bit of a cliff hanger. The weeks just ended up matching up. Sorry...Not sorry...

So yeah, what do you think will happen next? What was that splash? Did someone come to help them? Who? Wifi is going to be spotty at best, but I'd love to hear your guys' theories on what's going on.

Stich out. See ya later! :)


	17. Chapter 17

Light filled Chara's vision. All at once, the numbness and dragging weight of their limbs transformed into sharp pain. Chara startled into consciousness. They fell forward, gasping for air. The pain was fading as suddenly as it had arrived, but the panic wasn't. Their lungs still burned for air, their throat tightening. Terror coursed through their body. They were drowning. They grabbed their throat, caught between frenzied hyperventilating and coughing.

"Chara?" Sans asked.

Chara jumped at his voice. How had he gotten there? How could they hear him? They had learned in school that sound waves didn't travel through water, but they couldn't remember why because they had been distracted by the notes that Flower was passing and-

"Chara?" Sans repeated. Chara jerked their head up. They blinked. Their blurred vision slowly focused on Sans. He was standing above them, hands pushed into his jacket pockets. There was no ice. No river. No freezing water. Just their hands trembling on a cool, dusty cobble road.

"You okay?" Sans asked. He held out a hand. "Froggit in your throat?"

Chara dug their nails into the ground, relishing the solid, comforting texture of the stone. They took a deep, shaky breath and grabbed Sans' hand. With his help they stood, their legs wavering. "What...What happened?" They rasped.

"You tripped, I think." Sans pulled his hand away from them gingerly. They stumbled, but kept their balance. "You okay?"

Chara's gaze drifted from Sans, their breath catching. Sans' voice became a hum in the back of their mind.

Everything around Chara was purple. Purple houses stood in rows to the sides of them. Dull purple tiles made up the road, leading to a large purple archway. Chara turned back to Sans, eyes wild.

"Why are we in Home?" they cut in. "Why- What are _you_ doing here?" Nausea swept through them. They squeezed their eyes shut, desperately trying to abate the pain in their head.

There had been a flash of light. Could they have been teleported into Home? Chara looked at Sans. Was that even something he could do?

"I don't understand," Sans said.

Chara's mind was racing too fast to register Sans' words. Gaster could teleport. They glanced around, but he wasn't there. Gaster was a skeleton and _he_ could teleport. Maybe it was a skeleton thing? They looked back at Sans. Maybe he could, too?

They fought to catch their breath. Their throat was squeezing shut. "With the river...The ice and-" They took a few ragged breaths. "And then it... It broke, I… I was-"

"Calm down. You sure that you're okay?" Sans asked.

Too many thoughts were rushing through their head and they couldn't get out the words. They paused for a few seconds, catching their breath. "We were at the river and me...me and Asriel were on the ice and-" They felt their chest tighten. The river, the plunge into freezing water. Someone else had fallen in. "Wait," they said. The tightening grew into a sharp stab of panic. "Where's Asriel?"

"Asriel?" Sans' eye sockets narrowed with confusion. "We just-"

" _Where is Asriel!"_

"Right where he was thirty seconds ago. You okay?"

Chara's heart lurched. He was still stuck in the river. Of course he was. Even Gaster could only teleport one at a time. Had Sans seen them fall into the river and saved them? Had Sans teleported them away instead of Asriel?

 _No_

 _Not_ again.

Chara sprinted down the path.

"Hey, wait up!" Sans yelled. "I can't run!"

Their feet clattered against the sidewalk. No matter how fast they ran, they wouldn't be able to make it to Snowdin in time. They swallowed a lump in their throat and pushed themself harder. Their lungs burned. It felt like they were drowning all over again.

They spun themself around the corner. "Asri-" They stopped, skidding a few inches on the loose gravel. Their blurred vision focused in on green and yellow stripes.

Asriel turned around. Seeing them, a grin split his face. "Howdy, Chara. You're really fast. Wanna race the rest of the way?"

Chara was shaking. They gasped for air, eyes scanning over Asriel's dry clothes, dry face, and guileless smile.

"Actually, you look pretty tired. But maybe tonight we could-" he cut off as Chara stepped forward and pulled him into a hug.

Chara felt Asriel stiffen. They gripped his sweater tightly, needing the reassurance that he was actually there. That he was alive. They pulled away to wipe the tears that gathered at the corners of their eyes.

Asriel's confused smile melted into a worried expression. "Chara?" he said. "Are you okay?"

"I-" Chara swallowed, taking a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't-" Their voice broke. "I'm sorry. Are _you_ okay?

"Yeah." Asriel said cautiously. "Why wouldn't I-" He stopped and looked at them. "Chara?"

Tears slipped down Chara cheeks. They let them fall. "I thought- I thought that-" They bit their lip, their shoulders shaking. They were pulled into another hug.

"I'm sorry," Asriel said. "I knew that you were still getting used to being around the other monsters here. I should've stayed with you. I'm a terrible friend!" Asriel sniffled.

Chara took a deep breath and pulled away. They wiped their face with the back of their hand. "I-What?"

Asriel sniffled. The fur beneath his eyes was dotted with beads of tears. He didn't look freshly drenched. Alarm bells were sounding in Chara's head. "No, I was the one who got too far ahead. Isn't that what made you sad?"

Sammy barked at their feet, his tail flicking back and forth.

Asriel gave him a pat. "What's wrong, Sammy?"

Chara watched Sammy. Their brows tightened. "What's the dog doing here?"

Asriel frowned. "What are you talking about? We're babysitting him right now."

"No." Chara shook their head. "No, we weren't."

A chill raced up their back. The snowball fight and the river and falling. Thrashing around in the dark for air. The cold numbness that had settled over them.

"We were…at the...river?" Their tone grew uncertain.

They frowned and rubbed their temple, but the pounding in their head wouldn't stop. Everything about this was wrong. How could any of this be happening? They had been in Snowdin and they were having a snowball fight and-

"River?" Asriel frowned. "Are you talking about that one room in Home?"

"What are you talking about!" Chara felt tears build in the corners of their eyes. "How come you don't remember? We were having a Snowball fight in Snowdin and-"

"Chara."

Their head snapped up.

"You're bleeding." Asriel took their hand and turned it palm up. Blood slowly trickled down their hand, outlining the creases in their skin. They felt a small sting.

Chara swatted Asriel's hand away, grabbing their hurt palm with their other hand. They took a deep, forced breath. It was the scrape that they had gotten a few days ago in Home while they had been babysitting-

Confusion and fear spun in circles around their mind. This is what had happened a few days ago. But how? It could be a daydream. But if it was, did that mean that they had been imagining the next few days? It made no sense. Everything had felt so real.

An idea fluttered into their mind. If the last few days hadn't been real, maybe this wasn't real, either. They looked around, their eyes wide. Maybe none of this had ever been real. Falling down. Being saved by monsters. An entire underground world.

"Chara?" Asriel said. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

 _Asriel_. Did that mean that he wasn't real, either?

No. Chara frowned, curling their injured hand into a fist, ignoring a pinch of pain. The snowball fight and drowning had been a dream. That day wasn't real. But this place was real. It had to be.

They couldn't let Asriel know that they were going crazy. Their fist clenched together tighter. "It's okay. Didn't even notice."

"Are you sure? That doesn't look very good." Asriel's tone was worried. He looked down the path towards the house. "Maybe we should go and get mom."

"It's just a scrape, Asriel. I'm fine." Chara crossed their arms.

They had a weird daydreaming spell, they tried to reason with themself. They'd be more focused from now on, not zone out. They wouldn't let it happen again.

Shivers danced up their spine.

 _The curse._

"Heya." Sans' strained voice jolted them out of their thoughts. He walked down the path toward them, a hand pressed against his side. Beads of sweat ran down his skull. He caught up to Asriel and Chara, taking heavy breaths of air. "You run fast. Had to walk for the last part."

Sammy flopped onto the ground at Asriel's feet. "Heh, _now_ the pup's all tired out? Makes my job easier, at least." He leaned against the wall. "You doing okay, Chara?"

Chara nodded, mute. They had been barely listening, too caught up it their own thoughts.

 _I thought that it wouldn't affect me here, but it did. People will end up getting hurt because of me. Just like before._

"Cool. Think you two can manage walking the rest of the way? I have some stuff that my dad wanted to get done today."

Asriel held up a thumbs up. "Sure."

Sans stood up. "See ya' around, then." He stepped back through the archway and into Home.

 _Everything is looking okay again. How long will that last?_

It took awhile before they had found their voice. "Hey, Asriel?"

"Yeah?"

"Let go back ho-" their voice caught, "to the house."

* * *

Niko scowled, passing his camcorder from one hand to another. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

Chara glanced across the lawn and into the forest. The tree's leaves were tinged with gold from the sunset. They still had an hour before the sun slipped behind the mountain, and it would become dark. It was the perfect time to see monsters. "You scared of the _monsters_?" Chara teased.

"Less scared than you, probably," Niko said. "Your folks are going to see that we're missing and yell at us when we get back."

"We'll just have make it quick, then. My parents won't be back for hours."

Niko narrowed his eyes, looking from Chara to the video camera.

"So?" Chara waited.

Niko's shoulders sagged. "Okay. Let's just make this quick."

Chara stepped into the refreshing shade of the forest. Grass and wildflowers sprouted in scattered clumps, growing in patches where sunlight leaked through the canopy. He looked back. "Come on, already. It'll be fun."

"Fun," Niko muttered, following them into the woods. "Being on a cursed mountain when the sun's starting to go down. Yeah. Sounds great." Something moved in the bushes ahead. Niko took a step back. "Is that one?"

He waited for Niko to start filming, but Niko stood motionless.

Chara grabbed the camera. "Maybe it's a small one?"

Niko took a step back, grabbing the back of Chara's arm. "Run!""

A chipmunk scurried out of the bushes, it's cheeks swollen with acorns.

Chara started to laugh. "It's a _monster_!" He ran a few steps, pretending to trip. On the ground, he help up a hand towards Niko. "It's too late for me. Run. Save yourself!" He laughed, watching Niko's face flush. Chara shook his head and stood, brushing the dirt off of his knees. "Sheesh, Niko, you're such a crybaby."

Niko face was tinted red. "Am not."

Chara walked deeper into the woods. "Says the person running away from a chipmunk."

"Not wanting to get killed by monsters somehow turns me into a crybaby?" he snapped.

"Uh-huh." Chara slung the video camera over his shoulder.

"At least I've got some sense, unlike you," Niko muttered. He stopped walking. "I'm not following some crazed lunatic up a mountain."

"If you're scared, go home." Chara stepped onto a log, throwing his arms into the air to keep his balance. He turned. "I can find proof by myself."

Niko took a step back. "We should leave."

Chara rolled his eyes. "Really? You scared that you're gonna get jumped by another _chipmunk_ on the way back?"

"This is a bad idea. We should go back. You know the stories. Who knows what is farther up Mt. Ebott." Niko's eyes flickered up to the mountain.

"Mt. Ebott." Chara stood up straighter on the log, gazing at the tip of the mountain. He fiddled with the video camera straps and looked back at Niko. "No one's actually _seen_ a monster, have they? Maybe it's a myth. Maybe that's all it's ever been. But don't you want to know for sure?"

Chara waited for Niko to give in.

Niko held his gaze. "No. Let's go back."

"You're too scared to take any risks." Chara scoffed and hopped off of the log. "Sometimes, you've just got to man up."

Niko curled his fingers into a fist. "Fine then, go. See if I care." His eyes narrowed, the tips of his knuckles white. He turned and walked towards the house.

"The heck's wrong with you?" Chara raised an eyebrow.

Niko didn't look back.

Chara stood for a few seconds, expecting Niko to reluctantly return. When he didn't, Chara shrugged and went on alone, filling the silence with the sound of leaves crunching under their boots. He shouldn't feel bad, Chara told himself. After all, he hadn't _tried_ to hurt Niko's feelings. He gripped the videocamera tighter. It was Niko's fault, either way. He needed to toughen up a little.

Chara let out a heavy sigh. The path under his feet grew steeper. His pants legs were too long and he stepped on it as he walked. The edge of his pants were already brown with dirt. It would be a year before he hit his growth spurt. He passed under a large tree and looked up.

The tree, taller and wider then every tree he had seen before, had to be well over a hundred years old. It would have been cut down long ago if it wasn't on Mt. Ebott. Only a few steps away, on the side of a fallen down tree, were a few scattered mushrooms. They were bigger than Chara's hand with his fingers splayed. He heard a rustle in the trees. A squirrel peered down from its branch at him.

A twig cracked. Chara shot to attention, switching the video camera on. Leaves crackled as something walked along the forest's floor.

Chara took a step forward. He tried to stay quiet, using the trees as cover. His hands grew shaky, and he dug his elbows into his side. He saw a flash of brown fur and ducked behind a tree, swinging the camera around. He frowned.

It was a deer.

Chara clicked the camcorder off and looked around. The forest suddenly seemed so much more intimidating without Niko's company. He continued up the path. Leaves rustled in the breeze, their sunset gold darkened to a dull green.

He heard a stick snap behind him and spun around, his heart racing. Nothing was there.

 _Mt. Ebott. The mountain of monsters._

It was a starting line in a story, one that Chara had been told many times. He shivered. The shadows from the trees blended with the ground. Monsters could move about, unseen.

 _...Vicious creatures that attack humans without reason…_

He heard a crack.

Chara twirled around. The video camera swung and bumped into his side. He looked around, peering at the shadows. He heard nothing else. "It's just a story. Just a story," Chara mumbled, walking faster. The farther up the mountain he got, the harder the wind seemed to blow.

He looked into the dark woods behind him. A monster could be there, waiting for him. He hugged his arms around his chest, feeling none of the sense of adventure that he had felt earlier. He stepped away, keeping the movement of the leaves and sticks under his feet quiet, on edge for anything that might be a monster.

 _...steal and hurt...not to be trusted…_

The red and gold sunset was gone, replaced by a dark, eerie emptiness where shadows pooled and anything could be lurking. Chara clutched the video camera closer to him. It was getting dark. The wind howled in outrage. It screamed at him to leave, to leave the mountain behind. Chara's eyes widened. He needed to go.

He turned back the way he had come, but now the woods looked different. The wind tugged at his clothes and sent split ends of hair into his eyes. Chara threw a hand over his face and walked back the way he came. The forest felt darker still.

 _A cursed mountain…_

A chill shot up his neck, almost as if he could feel the gaze of something out there in the night watching him. He walked faster, glancing around, his eyes straining to find the path that led home. His breath caught at every shadow and branch that moved.

 _...promising death and suffering on anyone foolish enough to climb it._

Chara stepped into a mud patch, and his foot slipped. He lost his balance and fell, pain spreading up his leg. He rose to his feet, freezing water dripping down his legs and pants.

He took a step and his knee gave out. He let out a cry and slipped again. He stood up, unfamiliar woods at every turn. He saw no mountain peak through the darkness, no distant lights of the village. He was lost. His knee burned and he bit his lip, this vision swimming in tears.

 _Monsters kill without mercy._

Something stomped in the distance, a mix of sticks snapping and leaves rustling, growing louder and more frantic. A rabbit squeaked, caught by something, somewhere in the darkness. It was more of a scream than a squeak, going on for a few seconds before being cut off. Chara darted away, ignoring the pain in his leg. Monsters were nearby, playing with him, teasing him. He shook, terrified.

"Help me!" he called out at last. "I'm lost!"

Niko had known that he had gone up the mountain. It was late. He would have told somebody. Other people would be looking for him by now.

"I'm lost. Help me!"

The sudden silence after his cry scared him as much as noise would have. Shadows twisted and moved, monsters ready to pounce.

"Leave me alone!" Chara sobbed, covering his eyes. The monsters were coming.

He stood, alone and shaking. The forest was silent. No monsters came to hurt him. Chara opened his eyes, risking a look around. Nothing. He took a few steps in the direction he thought home was, biting back a cry of pain. "Somebody help! I'm lost!"

How far did his cry even travel? The wind tore his words into the thick night air, silencing his screams. Chara fought the stinging sensation of tears. He opened his squeezing throat again.

"Mom? Dad? Somebody help me!"

His cry was half hearted. It wouldn't make a difference.

 _Those who climb the mountain…_

 _...never return._

Until he did.

* * *

 **Hello! It's been a while. Sorry it's taken so long to write this chapter, I'll try to do better. This week try watching 'Fallen Angel' by KUWA CHA on Youtube. It's a great animation. They also did another one called 'Photograph' but it was taken down. (Multiple other people on Youtube posted that video so you should be able to find it, too.) Have a good week and see you next Sunday! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

_Those who climb Mt. Ebott_

 _Never return._

Tales of monsters and the demons guarding Mt. Ebott crept through his mind, as unabating as the shadows that undulated along the forest floor. He had been walking for what must have been hours. With every step the forest seemed to grow more malicious, growing sharper thorns to tear into Chara's sweat-shirt, calling claw like roots to rise from the dirt, and everywhere, changing the cicadas tune to a hiss of warning.

 _Go back._

Chara walked faster, his breathing growing more ragged.

 _No one returns._

They were just cicadas, mindless buzzing insects. Bugs couldn't talk.

 _Too late._

Something grabbed the edge of his shirt. Chara let out a gasp and turned around. The side of his sleeve was caught on a branch. Chara tugged it off. Twigs snapped as the cloth tore from the tree.

This was a normal forest, Chara thought. He was fine. If monsters were _actually_ real, he would have seen them by now.

 _Go back!_

Chara clutched the video camera, his knuckles white.

There weren't any monsters there. Monsters didn't exist.

He repeated the thought over and over in his mind like a prayer. He was okay. He was alive. There was nothing dangerous here. Only trees and thorns and leaves crunching beneath his boots. Nothing but-

 _Danger! Cannot return! No one-_

Chara pressed the palms of his hands to his ears, trying to shut out the cicadas' song. His eyes darted around the shadows. Dark, unfamiliar woods surrounded him. Would he ever find a way out? A stick snapped behind him, and his growing fear pressed him to keep going, to keep wrestling his way through the dense thicket of trees.

A new song joined the chorus of forest sounds. It grew louder, slowly drowning out the whispers of the cicadas. Chara subconsciously placed the noise. It was the sound of crickets, a song that had lulled them to sleep on hot summer nights, camping behind Niko's house. It spoke of comfort. It was quiet but persistent. It was-

 _Not a song they could hear in the chatter of the forest._

Chara burst out of the tangle of trees, wide eyed and frazzled. He was standing in a field of long grass and wildflowers. He waded through the dew covered plants. A break in the foliage was ahead. He pushed through the last of the weeds, the bumpy crackle of leaves and sticks underfoot replaced by the click of sneakers against pavement. He was on the road leading to Niko's house.

"Yeah! I did it!" Chara shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "All the way to Mt. Ebott and back!"

He gave a raspy laugh, looking back to the shadow lined forest. Tears slipped down his cheeks. He had left the mountain behind. He gazed up at the mountain peak that loomed in the distance, his smile so big that the corners of his mouth had already begun to burn.

 _Those who climb Mt. Ebott_

 _Never return._

But here he was, leaving the mountain behind. Those myths weren't real. Chara studied the mountain peak. If the myths weren't real, what else wasn't real? Were any of the stories true? Then, could it be possible that monsters didn't really exist?

That had to be it.

Monsters weren't real.

All this time everyone had thought so and everyone had been wrong. His smile grew more. He started the walk towards home, a little skip in his step.

"Yeah!" He pumped his fist into the air. He turned back to the forest, which had seen so scary and threatening mere minutes ago, and stuck his tongue out. When he got back, he could tell everyone. His parents would be so proud of him. He could tell the village that they didn't have anything to fear and everyone would be happy and-

His celebration was cut short when over the dull hum of crickets, was the crunching of gravel.

A monster!

He flinched, catching a glimpse of a person's silhouette before flashlight was shined in his face, blinding him. Footsteps started running towards him. Chara backed away.

"Chara?"

He relaxed, recognizing Nathan's voice. The flashlight's beam was lowered to his feet. Chara squinted, rubbing the white splotch out of his eyes.

"Oh my god, you're okay." He knelt and grabbed Chara's shoulders, his hands shaking.

Chara blinked the final white spots out of his eyes. "Hey, Nathan!"

Nathan's eyes searched Chara's face, full of disbelief. "And you're not hurt?"

"I'm fine. I just got a bit lost." Chara grinned. "Anyways, guess what I found out!"

"Got lost?" Nathan snapped. "What were you even thinking? We were all so worried! Niko thought that you had gone up the mountain."

"I did." Chara jumped up and down, his eyes wide with excitement. "And I found out that _monsters_ aren't real!"

"You didn't go up the mountain, _no one_ goes up the mountain."

Chara's grin dropped. "I'm not lying."

"Honestly, cut it out. This was just some stupid attempt to scare Niko, right? Come on. Let's get you home." Nathan started walking down the road towards town.

Chara ran after him, his hand coming up to the video camera. "I can show you! I went to Mt. Ebott to film monsters in the woods. I didn't even _see_ any monsters! And I'm back now even though everyone always says that 'those who climb Mt. Ebott never return', so that means that-"

Chara's shoulder was jerked back.

Nathan studied Chara's face, forehead creased. "You really went up there, didn't you?"

"Yeah!" Chara grinned.

"Don't look so smug, this isn't a game," Nathan said, yanking Chara closer. "You _knew_ what happens to the people who set foot on that mountain. Why the hell would you go up there?"

"I don't know." Chara tried to shrug his shoulder free, but Nathan's grip tightened, his fingers digging into Chara's skin. "I wanted to see if monsters were real."

"My brother is terrified right now." Nathan started walking, pulling Chara with him. "He came home in tears because _you_ didn't come back. Later, I turn my back and find him trying to sneak out of the house to look for you. Do you realize what you could have done? You could have been killed! You could have gotten Niko-"

After a second, Nathan let go of Chara's shoulder. "Let's go."

Chara followed after him, confused. Fields and trees turned into houses and lawns. They were starting to pass by houses, only a few blocks away from Chara's house. He had to walk fast to keep up with Nathan's much larger strides.

"But I figured it out!" Chara said. "The myths about the mountain and the monsters were made up. I'm going to be the person who tells everyone about it and then everyone will be able to go there and not be scared-"

The door to the house in front of them swung open and a group of people came out, talking in hushed tones. They were carrying long rods propped against their shoulders. The moon reflected on a metal piece attached the wood. Rifles.

The video camera was ripped from Chara's grasp. Nathan tossed it into the ditch.

"Hey! What the-"

A hand was clamped over Chara's mouth.

"Keep walking."

The people didn't even notice as they passed by. Chara waited until they were a few houses away. "What the heck, Nathan?"

"No one can find out," Nathan said. "If word goes around that you went there…" He shook his head. "You know how people are."

"But if they didn't believe me, they could just go up the mountain themselves and-"

"You don't understand." Nathan glanced over his shoulder to the people behind them. "You can not tell _anyone_ where you've been."

"But that's not fair!" Chara turned away.

"Chara." There was a warning in Nathan's tone.

Chara reluctantly nodded.

Nathan's voice rose. "Okay?"

"Fine!" Chara crossed his arms.

Nathan paused at the edge of the driveway. "There has to be a reason all of the people here are wary of the mountain. I can feel it. Something about the mountain's just… off." He frowned at Chara. "People won't like the news of anyone going to Mt. Ebott."

"Okay." Chara held up his hands. "I won't tell, promise."

"Good. No one can know." Nathan paused with his hand on the doorknob. "But I _am_ telling your parents."

His parents. His mom and dad were going to kill him. Chara walked through the front door, ducking his gaze to the floor. If he could stay in his room until after Nathan was done talking to his parents and they'd had some time to calm down-

"Chara, you're okay!" His mom ran over to him. "I was so worried about you when Nathan called and told us that you were on the mountain, I just thought-" She hugged him. "I'm so glad that you are okay. Don't you ever do anything like that again!" She gave him a peck on the top of the head.

" _Mom_!" Chara pulled away, embarrassed. He turned around to make sure that Nathan hadn't been watching. He and Chara's dad were talking in the doorway, their voices low but urgent. Chara wondered what they were saying about him.

He staggered on his hurt knee.

His mom's expression turned worried. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay."

His mom ushered him over to the kitchen. "Just sit down at the table for now, honey. Let me get you some ice for your knee. That'll make it feel better."

"Chara!" Ben raced into the kitchen. He started to cry, holding his arms out.

Chara picked him up awkwardly, setting him down on his lap. Ben was getting too big for that.

Ben's forehead pressed into Chara's shoulder. "I was really scared. I-" Ben wrapped his arms around Chara's arms. "I thought that the m-monsters were gonna eat you!" He started crying harder.

Suddenly, his entire plan to find monsters sounded so stupid. What had he been thinking? Chara felt guilt start to build in his chest.

"I'm okay, Ben," Chara tried. His leg was starting to hurt and he tried putting Ben down. Ben let out a louder sob, his arms wrapping around Chara's arm tighter.

His dad stomped into the kitchen. He met Chara's gaze with his own, angry expression. "What were you thinking, Chara? You know why people don't go on the mountain. We've told you all of the stories, why didn't you listen to them? To us?"

"But _Dad_!" Chara was starting to get annoyed. Everyone was making such a big fuss about it. He was okay! "There weren't any monsters! What if it's not even real? What if-"

"Chara, stop." His dad sat down in the chair next to him. He gave a deep sigh and his shoulders sagged. He looked exhausted. "Just. Promise me that you won't ever do that again, okay?"

Guilt pressed against his chest. He diverted his gaze away from his dad and looked out the window. The reflection that he saw there made him feel worse. The lamp light from the kitchen glared off of the window, illuminating his reflection in the darkness. He studied the wide eyed boy. His hair was tangled and clumped together with bits of leaves and burrs. A streak of dried mud crossed his cheek. He frowned.

"I won't."

* * *

 _They tried to cry for help. Icy water forced their scream back into their throat, burning their lungs. The cold cut into them like fingernails raking their skin. They twisted desperately in the darkness. Their hand brushed against something and their fingers locked around it, their hands so stiff from the cold that it nearly slipped from their grasp. They forced open their eyes._

 _Dead, empty eyes stared back at them-_

Chara's eyes snapped open. They took a gasp of breath, their heart racing. They could see the faint outlines of a dresser and a bookcase. They were in their room in Home. They were safe. They were alive. They sat up, wiping their eyes. Their fingers came away wet.

It was so dark.

Their heartbeat rapidly pounded in their ears. They clutched the edge of their shirt in their fist. The soft, thin fabric gave them something real that they could hold on to. They took a few deep breaths, fumbling in the dark until their hand brushed against the cold, sleek texture of the lamp. The room was bathed in a soft light.

It had just been a bad dream. Everything was okay.

But it wasn't. Their heart ached. Everything that happened was their fault. It always had been.

Their heartbeat started to slip back to its normal rhythm. It was too dark, still. Too much like their nightmare. Outside would be lighter.

They slipped through the door, and their breath caught. Embers crackled softly, painting the walls a warm, flickering orange. It was just as they remembered.

Over the gentle pop of the fire, knitting needles clicked together. Toriel would be there. They stood, uncertainly. They didn't belong there.

How could this be happening again? Yesterday, they had been daydreaming. Were they dreaming again?

Or was _all of this_ just a dream?

They stepped forward, their bare feet silent on the wood floors. Toriel didn't move, but they were sure that she had seen them. They sat next to the fire, just as they remember doing.

They refused to think that it was true. Dreams could never feel this real. But it would make sense. The fall had hurt them so much that now they were asleep, somewhere, unable to wake up. This entire world, what if it only existed in their head?

Then Toriel...Asriel...

The shimmering fire turned into a blur of reds and oranges. They made no effort to wipe them away.

Since it was a dream, did it even matter?

Something bumped into their leg. They looked down, startled. It was Toriel's ball of yarn.

Exactly like last time.

They handed the yarn back.

"Thank you, child." Toriel smiled, looking down at them. Her smile stiffened.

Chara ran a hand under their eyes.

Toriel lowered her needles into her lap and gazed at Chara, her eyes brimming with worry. "You are up very early."

Chara shrugged. Even with the warmth from the fire, they shivered. The nightmare had left them freezing. They scooted closer to the fire.

The click of knitting needles stopped. "You should consider going back to bed."

There was silence.

"I can't."

The fire crackled in the fireplace. Chara turned their attention to the flames, grateful for a reason to look away. Even in front of the fire, Chara could feel the heat of Toriel's gaze on their back.

"Chara? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I'm just not sleepy," they said too quickly.

"I see." Toriel's tone didn't change, but Chara was sure that Toriel saw their lie. The chair behind them creaked and Chara turned their head, catching a glimpse of purple fabric as Toriel disappeared into the kitchen.

That was new.

They listened to the clatter of ceramic in the kitchen. Everything had been the same up until now. They shifted, watching the hall for her to come back.

Toriel quickly returned, a mug in either hand. "I have made myself hot cocoa. Did you want some too, Chara?" She held out the second cup.

Chara took it, confusion crossing their face.

Why were things suddenly different?

They sipped the hot chocolate, the sweet taste almost too much for them. They set it down on the hearth.

"Feeling better, child?"

Chara nodded, lowering their eyes to the ground to avoid Toriel's gaze. They pulled on the edge of their pajama sleeve.

"Can I... stay here for a while?" Chara asked.

"Of course. You are free to stay as long as you would like." Toriel turned back to her knitting.

Chara had never known someone who could knit. Chara watched the way the yarn seemed to flow from one needle to the other. Toriel made it look so easy.

Toriel looked up, catching their gaze. "Was there something that you wanted to say, Chara?"

Chara shook their head.

Toriel watched them for a second. "If there is anything that you want to say, do not be afraid to speak up." She continued to knit.

It was nice, being around someone who was so caring. They felt an ache in their gut. They really missed their mom. If their mom was here, she would be there for them, comfort them. She had been so wise, so easy to talk to. She would have been able to tell them what was going on.

But she wasn't here. She didn't have any answers to give them. They'd have to figure everything out by themself.

What if people had found them after they had fallen? They could be asleep at a hospital, their dad at their side, waiting for them to wake up. If that was true, then was this all just a dream?

No, it couldn't be a dream. It was too real. They looked back at Toriel. They hadn't ever seen anyone knit, but the way the yarn seemed to twirl from her hands made perfect sense. The pain had felt too real. Drowning had felt too real.

Then what was going on?

It couldn't be teleportation. If they had been teleported, why would so much of this be happening again?

How could this all be happening again, unless they went back?

But how would that happen? Nothing made any sense. Chara closed their eyes, pressing their palms to their temples, hoping to quiet the buzz in their head. Their headache grew worse.

It was a dream.

The words sneaked through their head. It was the easiest thing to believe. Anything else didn't make sense.

But, in the back of their mind, truth gnawed at them. Through some instinctive sense, they knew that this wasn't a dream.

What if it happened again? What if the snowball fight happened again and the river. Are they powerless to do anything about it? Even if they don't set foot on the river, would Asriel end up-

Would they end up causing someone to drown again?

A chill settled over them, and they reached over to their cup of hot chocolate, their hand trembling. The handle was cool to the touch. They take a sip, cold.

The mug slipped out of their grip. They rushed to grab for it.

Toriel grabbed the mug before it hit the ground. She sat back up in her chair. "A close one."

Chara nodded. "Sorry."

"No harm was done. Here you go, Chara." Toriel handed it back.

Chara almost dropped it again in surprise. The mug was hot to the touch, almost painful. A silver wisp of steam rose from the mug. They took a sip, burning the tip of their tongue.

Their eyes were wide. "How'd you do that?"

Toriel chuckled. "Monster magic is very versatile."

Chara shot her a confused look.

"It can be used in many ways."

Magic. What if magic had played a part with them at the river? Maybe it wasn't teleportation, but some _other_ sort of magic that they didn't know about?

"If magic can be used for almost anything-" Chara stopped, struggling to phrase their question, "is there magic that can… heal someone who… isn't alive anymore? Or make it so they didn't die?"

Toriel stiffened. "Why would you wish to know that?"

Chara shrugged.

"Magic doesn't conquer death. Healing magic can be used in many ways that can save lives, but after a monster has fallen..." Toriel frowned. "Oh dear, how about we switch to a little bit cheerier of a subject, shall we?"

They had to find a way to explain what was happening. "How about magic that makes stuff never happen?"

"My, what a curious child you are! That is an interesting question. No, I am not aware of such a magic." Toriel's face grew sympathetic. "Why is it you ask?"

Chara looked away.

"Oh, dear. You could not have thought…" Toriel shook her head. "No, I am afraid it is simply impossible to go back to before you fell."

Chara blinked. She thought that they were trying to leave.

"Sorry. It was a dumb question."

"It was a perfectly fine question. It was I that did not have a good answer for you," Toriel said. She sighed, shaking her head thoughtfully. "I am so, so sorry you are trapped down here. I promise, even if we do not uncover a way to get past the wizards' spell, you will be taken care of here."

Chara looked up. "Wizards? A spell?"

"The barrier. Gaster assured me that there must be some way to circumvent the humans' magic, yet…"

"But humans don't _have_ magic."

"A long time ago, there were humans that _did_ have magic, though I imagined much has changed since."

"Since the monster war?" Chara guessed.

Toriel paused, her knitting needles hovering inches from each other. She turned to them. "How did you come to hear about the human-monster war. You have not even heard about wizards and mages before."

"I don't know. It's what my village told me," Chara said.

"I suppose it makes sense," Toriel said. "Humans would have attempted to cover anything that connected them to us monsters, everything supernatural and everything magical. It is quite the shame. What were you taught about the war?" Toriel said.

Everyone had heard about the monster war on the surface. The long, bloody war that monsters had started, unprovoked. Many innocent people were tortured and killed. It was such a stark contrast to the story they had read here. The monster book said that it had been a quick war. So many monsters died, yet no human was killed.

Guilt weaved through their gut. Maybe the human's side to the story wasn't completely true?

Chara grimaced. "It was a bloody, pointless war. It was meant to protect humans from the monsters, but-" They ducked their gaze to the floor. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"It was a bloody, pointless war. Fear and hatred ran rampantly. A little miscommunication was all that it took. It is sad that it had to happen at all." Toriel set her knitting needles on her lap. "Do you want to hear the monster's version of the story?"

Chara nodded.

"Up until that point, humans and monsters had always balanced out each other's' magic. They are strong, while we are weak. We have a wide range of uses for our magic, while they are limited to only a handful of spells. The most powerful connection that links our two species is the inability for humans to learn their soul magic without exposure to monster magic."

"Humans needed monsters in order to learn magic?"

"That is correct," Toriel said.

"If humans needed monsters for anything, then why did…"

"There came a time when monsters greatly outnumbered humans. Our large population, in addition to the diversity of monster magic, led humans to worry that we would reach a point where they would not be needed. The discovery of soul fusion only further supported this, and humans were scared." Toriel paused, stroking her lines of stitches, her face turned down into a frown. "So they decided to strike preemptively."

"I'm sorry." Chara knew the rest of the story. They looked at the mug in their hands. The mug's rim was coated with a layer of dried chocolate. They tilted the mug, swishing the chocolate around until the brown waterline had disappeared. "So after monsters were… gone, people stopped being able to use magic?"

"I assume that is what occurred," Toriel said.

"At least it's good that humans don't have magic anymore."

"No, no." Toriel picked up her knitting needles. "During the war, human magic killed so many monsters, but this was never supposed to happen. Our kinds were supposed to work together." Toriel shook her head slightly. Her knitting needles clicked together as she started to work on her hat again. "Even when fighting, human magic was so beautiful. It was easy to tell that their magic was not meant to be used that way."

Chara waited for Toriel to continue.

"Human magic was expressive. Aqua blue magic twirled and flowed, copying the grace and patience of its caster. Orange magic, hot headed and brave as its wielders, its sharp lances piercing through problems at a moment's notice. Red magic, the vibrant twist and pull of its energy, unwavering, pulsing with determination."

The fire crackled. Chara opened their mouth to ask another question.

"Howdy, Chara," Asriel said. He walked into the room, his steps slightly staggering. He leaned his head against the chair and let out a yawn.

"Perhaps you and Asriel could use some fresh air," Toriel suggested.

Memories of the river rang through their mind. Chara shook their head. "If it's okay with you, could I just stay here today?" Their eyes were pleading.

"Of course, Chara," Toriel said. "Whatever you would like to do."

"Aw, you sure?" Asriel asked. "I haven't even shown you the center of Home, yet."

Chara shrugged. "Let's stay here. For today. You can show me around there later."

"Okay. What do you wanna do instead?" Asriel asked.

Asriel's face was beaming. Chara's mind merged his bright, innocent eyes with the cold glazed ones from their dream. Chara winced and pulled their eyes away. He could so easily have drowned. He should have drowned. Chara swallowed a lump in their throat and forced their eyes back to Asriel. "How about you get to pick today," Chara suggested with a forced smile.

Asriel gasped. "Hey!" He hopped from foot to foot, his eyes gleaming. "I just came up with a super-duper idea!" He grinned.

"What?"

"A snowball fight!" Asriel exclaimed. There was a happy bounce in his step. "We can ask mom and dad if it's okay and then we can ask the other monsters-."

"No." They could feel their pulse quicken. They wondered if the other monsters could hear their heartbeat. "I don't want to."

"It wouldn't be today, silly!" Asriel said. "We can have it be in a few days and monsters could come and-"

" _No!_ "

The edge in their tone surprised them both. Asriel stopped bouncing. "But it would be so much fun."

Chara glared at their shoes. They ignored the stinging feeling behind their eyes.

"Well, what do _you_ want to do?" Asriel asked.

Chara shrugged. "Just hang around here today. I'm going to my room. To read." They shoved their hands in their pockets and turned to leave the room.

"Okay."

Footsteps followed them down the hall.

"Hey, Chara."

Chara turned, a scowl on their face.

Asriel didn't seem to notice. "Can I read with you?"

"Asriel." There was a warning in Toriel's tone. "Let us leave Chara alone this morning."

"Okay, Mom," Asriel muttered.

Chara grabbed a book off of the bookshelf in their room at random. They laid on their bed, flipping through the pages. The words and lines blurred in their vision until the story was just a single dark wave undulating across the pages. A drop of something fell onto the page, further smudging the ink. Chara tried to brush it away with their thumb. The smudge stayed. Chara rubbed harder, hand starting to shake. They dug their thumb into the page, rubbing faster, fingering burning, teeth chattering in their mouth until they tasted blood and-

The page didn't even make a sound as it ripped. Chara blinked. Their cheeks were inexplicably wet. The page had torn horrizontally, obscuring a handful of words. Chara wondered if they were important. They ran their finger gently along the tear, trying to push the pieces back into place. It didn't work. They had ruined it beyond repair. A sudden burst of anger swelled in Chara's chest. They hurled the book across the room at the door. It struck the frame just as the door swung open.

Asriel glanced at the book, its pages splayed open against the floor "Oh. I guess that means that you're done reading." Asriel said.

Chara wiped their face dry, glaring at their sheets. They didn't want Asriel to be here right now. They didn't want to fake a good mood. Even more so, they didn't want his sympathy right now. They didn't deserve it.

"I've got something for you." Chara watched Asriel out of the corner of their eyes, head still lowered. Asriel held out a flower. "Because last time it made you really happy."

He handed it to them, a wide grin on his face. "See? It even has a really long stalk. So you can put it in a pot and it can stay nice longer."

 _Why? This has all happened before._

They sat up.

Why couldn't he just _leave them alone?_

"It's great!" Chara said, a huge smile appearing on their face.

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's so nice, you probably should grab a vase for it."

His eyes widened. "Yeah." He ran out of their room and turned the corner. "Mom, do you have any vases?"

They set the flower down on their pillow and sighed. They were alone again-

Asriel stepped into the room, cradling a vase under both of his arms. "Mom said that we have to be _very_ careful." He set it down gently.

"It looks great." Chara grabbed the vase and haphazardly dropped the flower into it. A petal fell off at the mistreatment and spiraled to the ground. "Thanks. Now I think I'll-"

"It still looks empty, somehow." Asriel's lips were pulled tight, concentrating. "Oh, I have an idea. We can draw pictures!" He looked at Chara eagerly, waiting for their approval.

Chara shrugged. The other picture had taken so long to color and now it was gone. It hadn't mattered in the end.

"I don't want to make another picture."

"Okay." Asriel carefully sat down on the other side of the bed. "He studied them, biting his lip. "Are you all right?"

Chara avoided his eyes. "I don't know.'

"You look just look really sad," Asriel said. His voice cracked. "Are you mad at me?"

"No. Of course not." Chara passed the vase to their other hand.

"Oh. That's good. You just need some cheering up then. And I know just the thing to make you feel all better!" He rushed on, grinning. "It's still kind of early. We could talk to mom and ask if she could take us to Waterland and we could go swimming and-

"No!" They shouted. They flinched, scared by their own voice. "No. Just- shut up. Leave me alone. I don't want to go to Snowdin. I don't want to go to Waterland. Maybe I just want to be alone for once?" Their shoulders shook. "Is that too much to ask?"

Their fist curled around the neck of the vase. They couldn't hurt anyone else.

Asriel stood up, wringing his hands. "I...I'm-" He let out a cry and turned, running from the room. The door swung back and forth in his wake, groaning. They heard a disntant door slamming shut down the hall.

Someone always had to get hurt, no matter what they did.

Chara grasped the vase tighter. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't they go out there, have a snowball fight, go swimming? They shouldn't have to be scared. Why couldn't they live a normal life? Why did these things keep happening to them! They let out a cry-

The vase slipped out of their grasp. They caught it before it could hit the floor. They didn't need to break anything else today.

A feeling like pins and needles slipped down to their fingertips. Their hands shook, the vase in their hands suddenly feeling too heavy and cold to hold. They placed the vase on the nightstand, careful not to drop it this time. They rubbed their hands together, their fingers stinging as they warmed back up.

A knock sounded on their door. "Chara?"

It was Toriel.

"May I talk to you for a moment?"

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Sorry that this chapter took me longer than expected. Wow, this chapter is 16.5 pages long in googledox. XD This week check out "Dogs of Future Past" by lynxgriffin on Tumblr. It's such a cute comic and I just can't! Love their art style!**

 **Little Liar - I love Sans too. :D**

 **Guest - Thank you!**

 **John smith - Thank you for reading my story.**

 **Me Myself and I - Welcome to the party! Glad to see that you've found my fanfiction and are enjoying it! :)**

 **In response to Me Myself and I, John smith, and a handful of other people asking about Chara's gender: First, thank you everyone for being kind in the comments when you were asking about this. In this story Chara uses they/them pronouns because they are nonbinary, not because I am attempting to hide their 'real' gender from the monsters or from you readers. The part of the backstory where Chara is referred to with he/him pronouns is before they realize that they are nonbinary. I dislike writing Chara with these pronouns, but I spent a lot of time debating what pronouns would make the most sense in their backstory. I don't want to waste you guys' time, discussing the different reasons, but feel free to message me if you want to know more. Then I'd be happy to go a little bit more in depth about this decision. :)**

 **TL;DR - I hate it too, but this is the most accurate way to describe how Chara perceives themself at this point in their life.**


	19. Chapter 19

"Sure," Chara mumbled, looking down. The doorknob squeaked open. They watched the faint shadow Toriel cast in the doorway. Toriel didn't speak. Her silhouette stood motionless. They imagined Toriel's tired eyes, her brow etched in a mix of worry and irritation. The silence stretched on, making Chara more and more uneasy. They waited for Toriel to speak, tapping their heel against the wood floor. The quiet beat fought off the silence.

"It is a fine day today, is it not?" Toriel's shadow shifted to the edge of the doorframe. Her words were tinged with worry.

They shouldn't have been so harsh to Asriel. They felt a pang in their gut. He didn't deserve that. The guilt was like fingernails dug deep into their stomach. Toriel was going to ask them what was going on. They didn't want to lie or say anything that might upset her. It didn't seem right to repay her kindness with their problems.

Even if they wanted to tell Toriel what had happened yesterday, how could they when they didn't understand it themself? The silence caught their attention, snapping them out of their thoughts. Toriel was waiting for a response.

"I haven't been outside today," they said quickly before realizing how stupid that must have sounded. "I mean—outside the house would look the way it usually looked but…" they trailed off, sheepishly. "Never mind."

Toriel chuckled. Her voice was soft and good-humored, a sharp contrast from the shrill, snickering laughs the kids on the surface had.

"The expansion project has kept Asgore's hands very full. He has been spending so much time away from the house that I fear the garden has started to suffer the consequences." Toriel's hand rested gently on the doorknob. She smiled, her head shaking gently back and forth. "The garden has always been his project more than mine."

"The garden looks nice to me." Chara tapped their heel against the ground again, embarrassed that this was the only response they could think of.

"That is very kind of you to say." Toriel clasped her hands together. "However, the soil appears dry and full of weeds. It is quite the job. I was wondering if you would like to help me in the garden today."

They looked up skeptically, a slight frown on their face. "I don't know anything about gardening."

Toriel met their gaze. Her eyes were tired but kind. "That is perfectly fine."

"Okay." Chara's feet slipped to the floor. They followed Toriel out the door and through the hall, glancing down the staircase that led to Snowdin. A cold shudder swept up their spine. They brought a hand up to their neck, quietly following Toriel outside.

The first thing they noticed outside was the sapling. Its leaves had grown and unfurled, their garish lime color dulled to an olive tint. The tree stood thin and frail, its branches sagging as if the growing leaves were fighting against it, slowly weighing it down. To the side of the house, a bush's leaves spilled over the edge of the garden and onto the stone path. Patches of flowers pushed vibrant colored blossoms through the thinner patches of foliage.

A worn shovel leaned against the brick wall. To its side was a weathered watering can. The rusted metal had forced the paint to bubble and peel. Flecks of blue came off at their touch.

"I'll go get some water," they said. The spout of the watering can clanked against their knee as they opened the door. They glanced down the hall to Asriel's shut door, stepping carefully across the wood floor. They didn't want to face him yet. They frowned, lifting the watering can over the counter and into the sink.

Monsters were so different. People kept score. Humans felt some sort of sick satisfaction when scales were evened, when the guilty were given what they deserved. Asriel wouldn't be mad at them. They doubted that he was capable of staying mad at anyone for more than a few minutes. The watering can grew heavy, and they let it rest in the sink.

In an odd sense, they wanted Asriel to call them out for being cruel. Asriel deserved to be mad at them, but he wouldn't be.

Water lapped over the edge of the watering can, splashing their hand. Their fingertips grazed over the knob. They bent further over, rising to their tippy toes. Their fingers nicked the knob another few times before they were able to turn the water off. The counters here were much taller than they had been on the surface. Cradling the full watering can to their chest, they stepped outside. Though they tried to be careful, each step sent a splattering of water to the ground.

Toriel was weeding the flower patch. She turned to them, dusting the dirt off her robe. "Thank you for getting some water. Would you care to water the tree for me? It is half dead, it is so parched."

"Sure," they said. Toriel smiled at them, and they managed a small grin back. Their shoes scuffed down the stone steps. The ground under the tree was flakey and sent a thin film of dust into the air at the first touch of water, acting more like a fine powder than dirt. Under that original layer, the ground was parched and hard. They poured the water near the base of the tree, careful to give it time to sink into the ground.

"Might I ask you something?"

"Yeah?" Chara stiffened. They looked over, but Toriel was facing away from them, her gaze firmly fixed on the garden.

"Asgore and I have scheduled an outing to Hotlands about a week from now to inspect the homes, bridges, and other infrastructure built thus far."

"I don't have to go with you if you don't want me to," Chara blurted out.

"No, no," Toriel turned to Chara. "Both you and Asriel are very welcome to accompany us. I am simply asking to ensure that this is something you would be comfortable with."

Chara could remember Hotlands from their journey to the barrier: the maze of unstable ledges and bubbling lava, the scorching heat against their skin, the heaviness of the air in their lungs. Their stomach gave a lurch. "Isn't Hotlands dangerous?"

Toriel shook her head. "Not at all, child. Much work has been done to turn Hotlands into a habitable area for monsters. You would be safe." She patted Chara's knee. "Do not fret. You do not have to go if you do not wish to. I can always ask a monster to watch over you and Asriel until we return."

"A babysitter?" Chara suppressed a scowl. "I mean, I think I'd rather go with you guys."

Toriel watched them, her expression conflicted. "And you are positive you are okay with that?"

"Yeah." They turned back to the tree. The dirt under the tree had turned into a miniature mud lake. They muttered an apology and walked over to the bush to water the plants there, but only a small stream of water came out. They had used too much on the tree. They wiped their hands on their pant legs and went into the house to get more water. Through all of this, Toriel didn't ask them anything about what had happened. They glanced to the side. Toriel was turned away from them, pulling dead leaves off a bush. The silence suddenly felt hostile. They looked away from her, but couldn't shake the feeling that Toriel's eyes were on them. Every second of silence made it worse.

Chara crouched down, pretending to pull an imaginary tuft of grass out of the ground so that they couldn't see Toriel's face. "I'm sorry."

The silence stretched on a few seconds before they heard Toriel turn. They looked over to see Toriel watching them, a faint smile on her face.

"I know. Sometimes I forget just how much this all is for you." Toriel wiped her hands together, shaking off the dirt. "You have been through so much, child. I understand if you are not willing or able to talk about it, but if there is anything that Asriel or I have done to upset you, do not be afraid to speak up."

It wasn't even Asriel that was upsetting them. It was the snowball fight—the river. They wrapped their free arm around their stomach, suddenly cold. Toriel knew that something was wrong, but she would never believe what had really happened. No one would. This thought made them feel so alone. Their vision blurred, and a cry built in the back of their throat.

Chara shook the last of the water out onto the flowers, setting the watering can next to the wall beneath the shovel. Metal dinged against the stone. "Could I go back inside?"

Toriel's eyes narrowed in silent worry. "Of course."

They stepped back inside the house. In a few quick paces, they were in their room, fighting the guilt that clawed at their throat. They collapsed onto their bed. If only they had paid more attention to the river—

The crackle of ice echoed through their head, the way it had sounded an instant before the cold water had hit. The memory of that water chilled them even now. Chara burrowed under the covers to shield them from the ice and dark. They pressed their hands against their eyes, trying to think of anything else. The darkness behind their eyes and the weight of the blankets only made them feel like they were drowning once more. They kicked them off, drawing their legs to their chest, feeling cold and alone.

The drowning had been their fault, just as it had been on the surface. Trouble and misfortune followed them like a curse. Everyone in their village knew that. People who go up Mt. Ebott don't come back. But _they_ had.

Everyone in their village hated them. Why, then, did Chara suddenly feel a longing to go back? To see the sky, acres of forest, and Flower. They could vividly recall the small patch of golden flowers that took up refuge in the center of town. Chara had always thought that the small splash of color was out of place there. Color was for the bees and the autumn leaves, not the center of a town, especially one as ugly as their village. Flowers belonged on a farm, somewhere far away from careless boots, car fumes, and polluted street water. Thinking about flowers filled them with a sense of loneliness that made their room feel large and empty. They suddenly couldn't stand being alone.

They stood up and walked over to Asriel's room. The door was closed, but Chara opened it anyway.

Asriel looked up. He was sprawled on the floor, a toy monster in each hand. He looked up at them, and his ears drooped. "I'm sorry. I should've noticed that you were getting upset."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Chara said.

But he had. He had rushed across the ice. In another time or another life or in some obscure, realistic, terrifying dream, he had rushed across the ice. Unknowingly or not, he had led them to their death. Even as they thought this, they knew he couldn't be blamed for that. Their face softened. Asriel was responsible for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing more.

They looked at Asriel again and the river came to mind, along with a barrage of older memories that Chara had grown accustomed to pushing to the side. But the river. The river was something else completely. Thoughts of the river drowned out all other thoughts. They couldn't stop thinking about the sheet of ice, the darkness, and drowning. There had been a second crack, another break in the ice. Asriel must have been trying to help them, and he'd gotten too close. He fell in. Their hand curled into a fist. They felt a flash of anger. Asriel could be so stupid. They looked back at Asriel, who was blubbering on like a nervous fool.

"Something really weird is going on," Chara mumbled.

Asriel stopped talking, he looked up at them, concerned. "What?"

"Something happened last time we went...I think that...It might sound crazy, but..." Their mouth opened and closed dumbly, starting a thought, abruptly changing to another. They paused. The blind rush of courage was gone, replaced by the growing feeling that Asriel shouldn't hear about what had—or what _hadn't_ —happened.

"What?" The concerned edge in Asriel's voice grew more obvious. "Chara?"

Their mind blanked. Why is it that the hardest time to figure out what to say is when there is the most to say? Their brain ached from thinking, and they pressed their fingers against their head.

"Chara, please answer me. What's wrong?" Asriel's breath hitched. He stood up, slowly. His voice came out softer, hesitant. "Are you really that mad at me?"

Asriel wiped his blotchy eyes. His mouth moved up in an attempted smile, only to fall back to a frown.

He looked just like Ben when he was sad.

Chara stepped forward and gave him a hug. Asriel stiffened in surprise but quickly hugged them back. He was smiling again when they let go.

"Of course I'm not mad at you. I was just thinking." They sat down and grabbed one of Asriel's stuffed animals. "What happened yesterday just scared me, that's all." They managed a strained smile. "So that's why I don't want to go anywhere for awhile." They saw the concern on his face. "I'm feeling a lot better already."

"I'm really glad." Asriel scrubbed his eyes and grinned, already back to his happy self.

They felt another prick of guilt. If the things at the river actually had happened, Asriel would have been hurt. It would have been their fault. Chara stood up so suddenly that Asriel jumped. "I need to go take a nap," they found themself saying. They let out a small, forced yawn. "I didn't sleep well last night."

"Okay," Asriel agreed quickly. "I'm never real happy when I'm all sleepy."

"Yeah. Um, night—I guess." They took a step toward the door. It was the middle of the day, and they felt stupid for saying that. Even now, they felt that pinch of loneliness. They had thought that not being alone would have made it better, but this felt like a different kind of loneliness altogether. They alone remembered what had happened, and there wasn't anything that could change that.

Arms wrapped around their side from behind. "Good night, Chara. I love you."

Chara froze. Again, their mind blanked. "Um…night."

They retreated back to their room, feeling stupid. Even as they felt this, something else deep in the pit of their stomach felt warm, driving out the phantom chill of the cold river. Chara let out a small smile. They were going to be okay.

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated since...the start of September, right? Oh boy... Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! :D Expect the next chapter not next Sunday, but the Sunday after that. (or in 7 more months, you never know with me apparently) I'm so hyped to continue this story! Feel free to spam me whenever you want and tell me that I should stop watching Youtube videos and start writing. You'd probably be right. Anyways, see you in a bit!


	20. Chapter 20

Waterfalls forever kicked water into the air, where it hung like a shimmering veil over the path until it found something to cling to. The edges of the cavern were coated with beads of condensation. The light from the crystals seemed to only be magnified by these droplets. As water got too large to stick, it fell to the cave floor, plastering Chara's bangs to their forehead. As they approached the edge of this place, the air turned thick. The puddles under their feet gradually disappeared, the thin film of dirt replaced with stone. The heat of the stone bit through the soles of Chara's shoes like a warning. The gentle aquamarine glow of the crystals morphed into a brash, vibrant red. Turning from Waterland's last room and entering Hotlands was like stepping into a wall of hot air.

When Toriel said they were going to Hotlands, they hadn't anticipated this.

The sudden gust of hot air made their eyes water, and they squinted. Far beneath them, a sea of lava grumbled angrily, its slow waves lapping against the cave walls. The unstable ledges of rock had been transformed into a maze of platforms. The area was full of monsters building and carrying supplies. Bigger monsters hauled bars of iron by the dozens. Others scanned through blueprints or adjusted knobs on odd-looking tools. They felt a drop of sweat slid down their hand, pooling in their clenched fist.

"Wow, this place is amazing. We're so high up." He took something between a hop and a skip and darted down the path to the part of the railing closest to the edge. He peered over eagerly, his ears flapping into his face. "Bleh!" He jumped back, his eyes squeezed shut. As he turned back, wiping his eyes, he caught their stare.

"It felt hot on my eyeballs," Asriel giggled sheepishly.

"Asriel," Toriel cautioned as he scampered back. "I cannot have you acting carelessly. What would happen if you tripped or leaned too far over the rail and lost your balance?"

"But I was being careful—"

"There will be many monsters working ahead, and it is important that we all behave in a safe manner." Toriel held a hand out, which Asriel took with a disappointed sigh as they started to walk.

Chara's gaze kept drifting off the side of the path and down to the lava far below them. They were paying so much attention that the toe of their one foot ran into the heel of their other. They stumbled, their legs shaking as they caught themself. They told themself that they were never in any danger of falling, but they mind couldn't shake the possibility. Many areas were still under construction and had only a frail temporary rail between them and the edge. What would the monsters do if someone slipped? What if the whole land bridge collapsed? They glanced at the broiling, spitting lava and felt something build at the back of their throat. A chorus of 'good afternoon' jolted them from their thoughts. A group of workers greeted the Dreemurrs. Chara caught a few of the monsters looking at them curiously.

Ahead of them was a large building whose white, glossy walls were stained red from the light of the lava. Large screws and tubes formed a patchwork of metal that climbed the building. Even from outside, they could hear the faint hum of machines. A silver sign over the door read 'LAB' in large letters.

"But I thought we were going to actually look around Hotlands today," Asriel said, a tint of whining appearing on the edge of his tone. He shook his captured hand, still in a bad mood from being put on a time-out. "Staying locked-up inside all day doesn't sound like much fun."

"We will only remain here momentarily," Asgore spoke. "Dr. Gaster is in charge of the operations in Hotlands and is going to personally escort us around." He knocked on the door. Despite his large and powerful figure, his knock was a precise and rhythmic string of taps.

Chara shifted their weight to their toes and then back to their heels. The pads of their feet burned in the heat. They pulled their foot up to check the sole of their shoe. The track on the bottom of the shoe was flat. They poked it, their finger leaving behind a indent in the rubber.

Asriel's head snapped up, catching sight of the silver lettering. He pointed a finger from one side of the sign to the other, as if he was underlining the word. "A lab?" He gave a wide grin, already forgetting that he was trying to be cranky. "Do we get to see his lab? I bet it's all sciency and suffocated."

Toriel set a hand on his shoulder, a smile playing her lips. "Sophisticated?"

Asriel giggled. "Oh yeah. That's what I meant. _Suff-is-tick-ay-ted_." He exaggerated each syllable, making it sound more like an odd sentence than a word. He repeated it again under his breath, laughing at the sound.

The door slid open with a metallic ' _szwing!_ '.

"Heya. Dad said you all would be showing up soon. Come on in."

Chara looked up at the familiar but distinctly not-Gaster voice. Confusion silenced them, but Asriel's seemingly ever-present smile only widened.

"Hey, Sans." Asriel gave him a wave, which Chara thought looked pretty foolish, considering that they stood only a couple of feet away. "What are you doing here?"

"Right now? Just babysittin' Pap," Sans replied. "Dad made a fuss about me babysitting him back at our place in Home. Said that he wanted us to stay nearby. You know how parents can be." He gave a wide shrug, stepping back to let them in.

The A.C. hit them as if they had just been teleported to Snowdin. They let out a sigh, wiping sweat off of their forehead. The room was littered with half-opened boxes and loose papers. Wires and pieces of metal lay haphazardly in a corner of the room next to rows of empty glass containers. Counters ran along the entire length of one of the walls, overwhelmed with writing supplies and unsteady stacks of paper.

Asriel gaze shifted first around the room and then back at Sans. His expression was concerned. "Where's Papyrus?"

Sans looked around, lifting his hands in an exaggerated shrug. "I dunno."

"You don't know?" Asriel asked.

"I kid, I kid." A teasing smirk appeared on his face. "He's just takin' a nap."

Chara took one more look at the room's mess. "Why are you babysitting Papyrus here anyways?"

"My dad's been spending a lot of time here, so he had us move over with him."

"Wait a second," Asriel said, confusion crossing his face.

Confused too, they looked blankly at Sans. "Gaster's your dad?"

"Nah, a _different_ skeleton monster who works here's my dad." He let out a laugh.

He was laughing at them. They took a sudden dislike to the skeleton and his condescending tone.

"You don't look so amused," Sans said. He grinned, "Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, I'm assuming you didn't come to visit with _me_. I'll go grab dad, just a sec." He walked down the hall, disappearing into a room.

Asriel tapped his foot. "Mom, this is boring. Can I look around the lab?"

Toriel shook her head.

Asriel groaned. He leaned against the wall. "Hey, this counter's actually pretty cold." He put an arm on it. "Urg, it's so _hot_ in Hotlands."

"Were you not fine a few moments ago?"

"It was still hot." After a few seconds, he rested his head on the counter. "Mom, why would anyone move here?" He moved an arm to a new spot on the table. His elbow bumped into a stack of papers, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Asriel," Toriel warned.

"Oopsy!" He snatched papers from the floor.

The paper's hue shifted from an off-white to a dark blue. The papers rose off the floor, hanging suspended in the air. The few that Asriel had already grabbed slipped out of his grasp. They gathered into a pile and fell into Gaster's waiting hands.

"Sorry."

Gaster flipped through the papers. The distant look on his face told Chara that he hadn't heard Asriel at all. Coming to the end, Gaster muttered something and started flipping through the stack a second time until he snatched one and looked up.

"My apologies, your highness." Gaster's voice had a cool, polished eloquence to it. He set the rest of the stack on the counter and gave a bow. "It is a pleasure to have you. Please disregard the mess."

Asgore shook his head, lifting a hand. "Gaster, please. There is no need for such formalities."

"As you say," Gaster said, clasping his hands together. "Now, if you are ready?"

Asgore nodded. "Of course."

Gaster led them through the lab and through the doors on the opposite side. The heat felt even more intense. Gaster led them down the path to a busy intersection where monsters were installing some sort of walking belt. They had to wait for the monsters to clear out before continuing.

"My apologies," Gaster said as they continued down the path. "Despite our best efforts, work in Hotlands has fallen behind. The heat and rock ledges are proving to be a bigger hindrance than I was anticipating."

"How long until civilian monsters will be capable of moving in?" Asgore said.

"The housing divisions cannot begin their work until the basic infrastructure is laid out," Gaster said. "As infrastructure is roughly three-fourths of the way completed, I would estimate that it will take another two months."

The path abruptly ended. At the edge was an odd yellow tile. At the center of the tile was a vent with an arrow marked on in red paint. Their eyes followed the path of the arrow to the other side where the path continued. "What are these for?" they asked, even as they knew the answer.

"Transportation," Gaster said.

"But why _that_?" Chara gesture wildly. "Why not just build more bridges?"

"A long time ago, monsters made puzzles that pushed air from tile to tile and made crossing over lava and other dangerous areas safe but confusing. The thought was to give monsters time in the event of a human attack. Now, though the original fear of human attacks is gone, the majority of monsters voted to simplify and keep a handful of these puzzles as part of our tradition."

"Oh, I want to try." Asriel hopped closer, looking at his parents pleadingly.

"All of the tiles here are completely functional," Gaster said. "The prince would be safe."

"I do not see the harm in that," Asgore said. He turned to Toriel. "Dear?"

"Of course you can," Toriel said.

Asriel stepped toward it, one foot hovering over the tile. "Just step on it?" he asked.

Gaster nodded.

Asriel did. _Woosh_! The vent came alive with a roar. A puff of wind flung him across the gap. "Woah!" Asriel gave a startled yell. On the other side, Asriel laughed and held a thumbs-up. "Come on, Chara. You should try this out. It's really fun."

"How's it work?" Chara eyed it.

"It's magic, Chara!" Asriel shouted, jumping back over the gap. "Wee!"

"While Asriel is technically correct, It is quite more complex than simply being 'magic'," Gaster said. "There is a jet of wind that pushes the monster into the air and in the right direction, but the tile serves a much more advanced function than simply letting out steam. It calculates the force needed to get the user across. Advanced mechanisms lock onto a monster's soul and draw it away from itself, like a magnet. It is programmed to move a soul to a specific location on the other side."

Chara took a step back. "I'm not sure if I can." They watched as Asriel hopped back and forth from tile to tile. They looked over the edge and watched the lava bubble and grumble.

"Do not be nervous, child," Toriel said. They felt a hand on their back. "It is perfectly safe."

The snowball fight in Snowdin was supposed to be safe.

"Would it reassure you if Asgore and I went over first?" Toriel asked. "So you can see that there is nothing to be afraid of?"

"Maybe?"

Both Asgore and Toriel hopped over as if it was a perfectly normal method of transportation. Maybe it was, for monsters. Gaster clasped his hands together, waiting patiently. They could sense his annoyance. Toriel and Asgore had a lot of work to do today. They were only slowing them down.

They stepped on the tile before they could glance down at the lava again.

The hot air sent them flying into the air. They made a sound more like a squeak than a shout, their arms flailing. Before they had time to even process what had happened, their feet were touching the ground again. Their legs shook so much that they almost gave out, but Asgore rested a hand on their shoulder.

"You did very well."

"It's so fun, isn't it?" Asriel asked. He beamed at them. "Right?"

"Uh-huh." Their heart was pounding in their ears, but Chara let out a small smile. "Fun."

Asriel ran over to the next one and was already on the other side by the time they got there. This time was easier, but Chara still held their breath until they were across.

The air felt suffocatingly thick and hot, even in shorts and a t-shirt. The hot air blasted from the vents was a welcome breeze. Sweat ran down their back. The Dreemurrs walked along as if the heat was a minor inconvenience. How did the Dreemurrs cope so well?

The group stepped into an elevator. Metal supports creaked as the elevator rose. Chara stood uneasily. As they rose, the heat from the lava became almost bearable. The elevator creaked to a stop, sinking a few inches before opening. They looked out to the cave wall on the far side. Their gaze swept down for only a moment before they snapped it back up, the height making them feel dizzy.

The path here was at least ten feet wide, but ahead the path narrowed to a speckling of small platforms. The small scraps of land suspended above the lava looked like little floating islands with only iron and steel plates keeping them there. The entire floor seemed to waver in their vision.

They stumbled backward, flinching as their fingers touched the hot metal door. "I can't do it," they said.

The earlier conversation about structural supports or safety hazards died out, and the monsters turned back.

Toriel watched them. "Are you feeling sick? Perhaps the heat is too intense here?"

Chara nodded.

"Then we should start back."

A guilty feeling settled against their chest. "Don't. I'll be okay," Chara said. "Ahead's too- I'll just stay here by the elevator."

"I'll stay here too," Asriel said. "I'll be good. I promise."

"Well, okay," Toriel sighed. "I am fine with both of you staying here if you really want to." Her face grew stern. She crouched to Asriel's height, placing a hand on the side of his head. "You have to stay here until we come back. No wandering off." Her hand smoothed down a stubborn patch of fur. "You understand, Asriel?"

Asriel held a thumbs-up. "Yep."

"Well then," Toriel said, nodding to Gaster. "If we may continue?"

He gestured down the path. "Right this way."

Chara leaned against the wall, far from the edge as possible. They sank down, their shirt snagging on the rocks. The elevator started humming.

"Hotlands is pretty cool, right?" Asriel spoke up.

Chara didn't respond. The elevator got louder and louder until the doors opened and a monster stepped out. Dull sandy scales covered her body. Orange spikes ran down the back of her head. She had no arms, only a small tail that peeked out from an oversized yellow and orange striped shirt. A thin, worn sling tote bag hung off one shoulder. She absentmindedly adjusted its straps, stepping out of the elevator. Finished fiddling with the bag, she looked up and met their gaze.

"Woah, you're the human, right?" She studied them, her eyes bright with curiosity. When Chara didn't respond, she turned to Asriel. "Hey, is that the human?"

"Yeah," Chara spoke. "My name's Chara."

"Nice to meet you." The lizard's face slowly turned into a grin. "My name's Keagon. Mom said that the Dreemurrs would be here today to look around. Well, how do you like it?"

"It?"

"Hotlands, of course." Keagon gestured wildly with her tail.

Chara crossed their arms. "It sure is hot."

"I know, right? It's so warm and bright. The heat just has this way of making you feel alive, y'know?" Keagon studied Chara. She narrowed her eyes. "I don't think you like it here." She said it as if she was stating a fact. She smiled. "You just haven't seen how pretty this place can be. Come over here."

The monster walked over to the edge and sat down, so close that her stomach pressed against the safety rail. Her tail curled around her side and patted the ground next to her. "You can see a lot of cool things from way up here."

"Really?" Asriel's ears perked. He crab-shuffled the few feet over and sat criss-crossed next to her. He pointed. "Hey, I can see the lab from here! There are a lot of monsters working down there." He gave a wave. "Hey! Up here!"

Chara had already scooted to the middle before their mind caught up to them. What were they thinking? They looked at the flimsy rail, the only thing standing between them and the drop. They stood, too afraid to take that final step to the edge but too curious to stay by the wall.

Asriel turned to them."Come on, Chara." He held his hand out. "We can hold hands if that makes you feel a bit better."

Chara didn't take his hand, but still scooted closer until they were even with Asriel and Keagon. They wrapped their arms around the railing. They looked down, the hot rush of air blowing their split ends out of their face. They watched the lava spit and bubble. The lava light reflected off walls and danced up metal supports as if it was on a journey to get out. After a moment, Chara let their feet dangle.

"Woah. What's that?" Asriel asked.

Chara struggled to see what he was pointing at at first, but as soon as they saw it, they let out a breath. "Wow."

Twisted into the rock and hovering over the lava's surface was a building. It was so large that it looked like a part of the cave wall at first glance, the red light of the lava staining it the same color as its surrounding rock. The thick, super-heated air and lava lit cave walls made it look like a fortress amid a misty red haze. They struggled to see the point where the rock ended and the structure began.

Asriel tapped Keagon's shoulder. "Do you have any clue what that is?"

"That's the core." Keagon said. "My parents are puzzle setters, so they haven't done anything with the core just yet. They have to wait for the builders to finish it first."

"What's it for?" Asriel asked.

"It makes power from thermal energy."

"What's thermal mean?"

Keagon made a face. "I don't know. My mom just said that's what it's for. Something about Hotlands being really hot?" she offered. "If you're really quiet, you can hear the gears of the Core from way over here."

It immediately went quiet. Over the hiss of steam and creak of metal, Chara could hear another sound. A metallic click that fell in equal beats. Now that they had heard it, they felt like it was impossible to not hear. They turned over to Asriel to tell him that only to see both Keagon and Asriel still listening. For the first time, Chara looked up.

High above them, Chara could make out pinpricks of light. When they had been by the lab, the lava had overpowered everything else. But now that they were higher up, they could make out veins of orange crystals nestled into crevices on the cave roof. They took in Hotland's beauty and, for a moment, imagined they were stargazing.

* * *

Guess who's back after a little... year or so? break? XD How y'all doing? Anyone still here? Haha, I guess we'll have to see.


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